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Article on proposed croc hunting from last year.

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Crocodile safaris environmentally sustainable

Thursday, 28 July 2005

Presenter: Helena Webb

The Northern Territory plan to allow crocodile hunting safaris would be environmentally sustainable, says a wildlife expert.

Crocodile slipping into water

Crocodile snoozing

Crocodile

The Northern Territory government is pressuring its Federal counterpart to allow the taking of 25 large adult males annually from various rivers. A senior reseach fellow at the Charles Darwin University's Key Centre for Tropical Wildlife Research, Dr Corey Bradshaw says that the cull would be easily sustainable.

Crocodiles were declared a protected species in Australia in 1971 when numbers had declined to less than 5,000. "We came very close to losing them," says Dr Bradshaw. Now, he estimates that there are between 80,000 to 100,000 animals. There are two species native to Australia, freshwater and saltwater. Both are doing well, with the salties staging the major recovery.

Twenty five animals killed a year is easily sustainable, says Dr Bradshaw. Hunters could take hundreds with little long term impact. "There isn't really any fresh water or salt water these days in the Territory that you can swim in safely." A few water holes are kept clear and a quick dip in and out of the ocean would be OK says Dr Bradshaw, but you'd be a fool to get into fresh or estuarine water.

Could genetic diversity be at risk with the largest males being targeted as the best trophies? Again, Dr Bradshaw doesn't believe that taking 25 crocs would cause miniaturisation of the species. Larger animals do carry the healthiest and most variable genetic code, he says but the animals would have to be heavily exploited before an impact was felt.

Interestingly, one possibility of taking out the larger animals might be an increase in populations because the large males themselves cull smaller animals.

Some rivers have better habitat for crocodiles and crocodile nesting, says Dr Bradshaw. The Mary River for instance now supports 8 to 12 crocs per linear kilometre. That compares with two in the Adelaide River nearer to Darwin. Over a 400 to 500k river, that's a lot of crocs, he says.

Under present laws, crocodiles can only be killed for control purposes and problem animals are usually taken to a crocodile farm. Every year, someone is attacked in the Territory but only large, three to four metre animals are capable of killing someone, says Dr Bradshaw.

Generally, he's in favour of sustainable exploitation of wild animals. Once crocodile farming was allowed, that clinched the comeback." The demand for wild crocodiles was reduced because the market was flooded with legal farm crop skins," Dr Bradshaw says.

"I'm in favour of exploitation if it's controlled well and done so that the demand for wild product is reduced and it ceases to be economically viable."

Crocodile images are courtesy of Dr Bradshaw and Dr Iain Field.

http://www.abc.net.au/wa/stories/s1424945.htm

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John aka NitroX

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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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