A bakery has been fined after animal droppings were found behind the building.

The owner of the bakery on WA’s Rottnest Island says the $100,000 fine is “absurd”.

The droppings were allegedly left by a quokka – a small native macropod which lives almost exclusively on islands off WA.

A magistrate hit the Rottnest Island Bakery with one of WA’s biggest ever penalties for such an offence, finding the bread-makers culpable of violating the WA Food Act.

The act requires proprietors to take all practicable measures to prevent pests from entering their premises. 

Ivan Rutherford, Rottnest Island Bakery’s owner, stressed to reporters that no quokkas had reached the production or retail areas of the business, nor any inside areas at all.

Health Department inspectors found quokka droppings in the lane behind the bakery.

Mr Rutherford says his business has been devastated, and there is nothing he could have done.

“What can you do? You can only coax them to get out of the way – you can’t physically touch them,” the 73-year-old owner said.

Other health violations were found at the site as well, reducing the credibility of the owner’s claim that the droppings were the main cause.

Inspectors say they found food storage practices which left meat and flour susceptible to contamination, and a lack of cleanliness in the preparation area and bakery’s equipment.

WA’s largest ever food safety penalty was awarded to, McDonald’s on Read St in Rockingham, which was charged $180,000 fine for hygiene violations.