11-06-2025
Queensland crocodile cull plan supported by some councils, slammed by conservationists
On George Adil's cane farm in Far North Queensland, the day-to-day of life and work keeps him busy.
It means he doesn't always have time to be vigilant of crocodiles on his Mareeba property, inland of Cairns, especially when he has to get into the river to service his irrigation equipment and pump by hand.
"It is definitely worrying when you have to get into the river," he says.
"I'm focused on farming, and I'm focused on the next problem."
He believes saltwater crocodiles have been an increasing problem since a major flood in 2000, now leading a petition to expand an existing crocodile removal zone.
He says, aside from the impact on his farming, he and his family have also had to stop swimming in the Barron River.
Mr Adil is supportive of a proposed bill, which would allow crocodile culls and removals in populated areas.
But says decisions about the management of the species should be made by those who live in crocodile country.
The proposed legislation from Katter's Australian Party, which would also allow Indigenous groups to run safari-style hunting trips, is currently being examined by a Queensland parliamentary inquiry.
At a public hearing held in Brisbane today, it received support from some local councils, who say more needs to be done.
Speaking at a public hearing into the bill on Wednesday, Mareeba Shire deputy mayor Lenore Wyatt said Mr Adil was far from alone in his frustration with crocodiles.
She says it was taking to long to remove crocodiles or obtain the permits needed to move them — including within an existing special zone "F" where saltwater crocodiles are already removed upon sighting.
Councillor Wyatt says in one case a farmer had contacted the state environment department in January about a large crocodile in his dam, but had yet to have it removed in June.
She says this slow response time highlighted an "urgent need for reform".
Councillor Wyatt told the committee it's believed crocodiles had not been native to the area, and instead had ended up in the area's waterways in the 1990s after escaping a crocodile farm.
She said this made it a "unique" situation, and was urgently calling for more to be done regarding crocodile management.
"We're not asking for crocodile eradication, but we are asking for a more responsive and place-based approach to crocodile management," she said.
Crocodiles were hunted to the brink of extinction in Queensland prior to the 1970s.
Saltwater crocodiles are currently considered a threatened species and are protected.
The Department of Environment estimates there are between 20,000 and 30,000 salt and freshwater crocodiles in Queensland waterways.
Further south, the Whitsundays Regional Council says it's also dealing with growing crocodile populations.
The Proserpine River has the largest population of saltwater crocodiles along the east coast.
It's also supportive of the bill and moves to address numbers, and to make it easier to get permits to move crocodiles.
"Crocodiles are an important tourist attraction for the Whitsundays," council's natural resource management and climate manager Scott Hardy told the committee.
"They can also be a hazard as well."
He says crocodiles are regularly sighted offshore at Airlie Beach as well as occasionally off Whitsunday Islands, and a growing population in popular tourist locations is causing concern over the risk of "inevitable" crocodile interactions with tourists and residents.
Like in Mareeba, Mr Hardy says council is struggling to relocate crocodiles due to the length of time it takes to obtain permits to do so.
He is also supportive of a better way to record crocodile sightings, such as by using a QR code, and is calling for better education and more frequent surveys.
Meanwhile, conservationists including Bob Irwin and the Environmental Defenders' Office (EDO) appeared at the inquiry to speak in opposition of the bill.
Mr Irwin, who founded what would go on to become Australia Zoo, said he'd been working with crocodiles in the wild and captivity for more than four decades.
He said over that time he and his son Steve had worked hard to get into their heads and understand them.
Mr Irwin said he was "frustrated" to once again hear calls for crocodile culling, describing it as a "pointless exercise".
He told the committee he was concerned that as large crocodiles were extremely territorial, killing one or removing it would simply lead to smaller ones, with potentially worse behaviour, replacing them.
Mr Irwin said he wasn't against moving crocodiles away from areas where people exercised their dogs or from waterways near a boat ramp, but said he remained concerned about crocodiles returning to their own territory.
He also called for more education, saying most deaths around crocodiles occurred due to human recklessness and was scathing of people who filmed themselves getting close to crocodiles.
For Queensland premier David Crisafulli, it was human safety which had to come "first absolutely".
"I'll always say that. We also have to balance good environmental outcomes and that's why everyone should have their say on this bill," he said on Wednesday.
The committee will deliver its final report in August.
