NORTHERN Territory wildlife authorities busted a young man for shooting an agile wallaby out bush – where he and his mates cooked it in a stew – after he posted photos on Facebook.

Darwin Magistrates Court heard boiler maker Aaron Nathaniel Craufurd, 23, didn’t know it was illegal to kill the abundant-but-protected native animal when he shot one on a fishing trip on the Daly River in May last year.

Magistrate Dick Wallace said: “If it was a croc everyone would know about it. “But I’ve never seen anyone charged for shooting a wallaby.”

Parks and Wildlife got onto Craufurd because he posted the photos on Facebook.

The court heard he grew up in Humpty Doo, and had “widely broadcast” among his mates that shooting wallabies was an offence since being charged. Prosecutor Melissa Overell said offences under the act were hard to detect.

But Mr Wallace declined to record a conviction and released Craufurd on a six-month $500 bond.

“It’s not a threatened species – in fact, wallabies are overstocked in parts of the NT,” he said.

“I remember seeing 30 or 40 freshly knocked over on the side of the road while driving to Katherine.”