MONKEYS, chickens, parrots, cats and a litter of pups have been seized from Indonesian fishing boats caught in Australian waters, fuelling fears about the spread of diseases such as rabies, tuberculosis and bird flu.
The boats, which were seized and destroyed, were also infested with rats, mosquito larvae, termites and borers.
Photographs of the seized animals were used in a presentation by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to Indonesian officials in Jakarta in August.
The presentation, which has been obtained by The Weekend Australian, reveals authorities are worried about rats and domestic animals increasingly being found on intercepted boats.
It also supports claims about an increase in unauthorised landings and abandoned vessels on Australian shores, with photographs of Indonesian boats on beaches and evidence of a well that was suspected to have been dug by poachers setting up camps.
The evidence emerged as Aboriginal marine rangers in the Northern Territory stumbled across a crew of five poachers who had landed and were fishing in a river at Maningrida, on the northern coast.
Federal Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald and Customs Minister Chris Ellison have said previously they were aware only of anecdotal evidence of monkeys being brought into Australian waters by illegal fishermen.
West Australian Fisheries Minister Jon Ford, who has repeatedly attacked the federal Government for a lack of action and co-operation on combating the poachers, yesterday accused Canberra of covering up the extent of the problem.
Calling on the Prime Minister to establish an independent investigation, Mr Ford said authorities would be foolish not to realise it was only a matter of time before animals on board the foreign boats were taken ashore.
"I think, at best, there is a disconnection between the (federal) ministers' agencies and the ministry and at worst there is a ministerial cover-up," he said.
Senator Macdonald yesterday maintained he was unaware of the AQIS report and did not know when the pictures were taken, but said he was confident quarantine issues were being addressed.
He said a chicken and a parrot were found on a boat seized near the Northern Territory's Wessell Islands this week, but it was unusual for vessels to have animals on board.
"We are conscious of all these potential risks; we always err of the side of caution," Senator Macdonald said.
Senator Ellison was travelling and could not be contacted yesterday, but AQIS national manager of cargo and shipping Bob Murphy said it was "extremely unusual" for monkeys to be discovered on foreign boats.
Mr Murphy said the vast majority of boats did not carry animals and there had been no evidence of animals being taken ashore by poachers.
He said all reported camp sites were investigated by AQIS and boats were towed to within about 3km of the coast before being inspected and then destroyed.
"From a quarantine perspective this is a good story because what you have got here is a summary of what AQIS does when it intercepts illegal vessels," Mr Murphy said.
A Customs spokesman said seized animals were secured in cages provided by AQIS before being destroyed.