Last Update: Saturday, September 23, 2006. 12:00pm (AEST)

Govt turns down latest application for croc safari

The Commonwealth has today dashed hopes of a crocodile safari hunting industry in the Northern Territory.

Two Territory proponents recently forwarded a commercial hunting plan to the Federal Environment Minister.

They wanted domestic tourists to be allowed to cull 25 of the reptiles a year.

But Federal Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell says he turned down a similar proposal last year and is not looking to approve this one.

"It's a stupid argument quite frankly - it's entirely incompatible with a modern approach to conservation," he said.

"The 600 that are culled under a license are culled using professional techniques that ensure there is a humane culling process.

"Getting amateurs in to take a pot shot at a croc is not a modern, sensible or humane approach and the Australian Government won't be having a bar of it."

Territorian Mick Pitman is behind the proposal and says the Minister has made an uninformed decision.

"I find it a bit ludicrous and a definite sign of him being uninformed because he didn't even look at our proposal before he made a decision," he said.

"So how he can he make a decision that is based on one side of the fence and not both sides of the fence.

"There's got to be a balance drawn here and there's definitely no balance when Mr Campbell and this issue is concerned."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200609/s1747112.htm