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2008/26: Should Australia cull its saltwater crocodiles?<BR>

2008/26: Should Australia cull its saltwater crocodiles?

What they said...
'Nature is completely out of whack. Where we had no crocodiles at all now in these rivers, some of them will have 80 or 100'
Federal Parliamentarian, Mr Bob Katter

'Culling these animals would only lead to more danger as it would lead people into a false sense of security'
Professor Craig Franklin, a crocodile expert at the University of Queensland

The issue at a glance
On November 15, 2008, police confirmed that the human remains found in a 4.3-metre crocodile in far north Queensland were those of 62-year-old Arthur Booker.
Mr Booker, from Logan in Brisbane's south, was last seen heading to check crab pots on the Endeavour River near Cooktown on September 30. The Vietnam veteran and his wife Doris were on a two-day holiday at a campsite on the river.
A four-day search failed to find any sign of Mr Booker, other than two sandals and his wristwatch.
After an endoscope revealed Mr Booker's remains in the stomach of a crocodile, authorities  decided that the animal responsible should not be destroyed or released back into the wild, but will be kept at an undisclosed crocodile farm.
Federal Parliamentarian, Bob Katter, has accused the government of treating crocodiles too leniently.  Mr Katter has declared that the crocodile population is exploding and that crocodiles that harm or kill human beings or are suspected of doing so should be shot. Other Queensland politicians have also supported Mr Katter's call for a crocodile cull.
Conservationists and others have condemned Mr Katter's remarks as ill-informed and inappropriate.

Background
Australia's history of crocodile protection
There are 22 species of crocodile world-wide, two of which are endemic to Australia: the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and the freshwater or Johnston's River crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni).
The northern rivers of Australia have been famous for man-eating crocodiles since the early days of Australian exploration. Large saltwater crocodiles have taken the lives of many men, women, children, pets and livestock. After World War II, saltwater crocodiles were hunted extensively for their skin. Hunters combed northern rivers and tributaries, indiscriminately shooting the saltwater and freshwater crocodiles.
Hides were sold wet salted to Europe. It is estimated that 270,000 saltwater crocodile hides and 200 to 300,000 freshwater crocodile hides were exported in the 15 years prior to 1972. Hunting slowly declined as hunters recognised that they had exploited crocodiles to the point of possible extinction. There were so few crocodiles remaining in the late 1960s that the hunters could not make a living. Unsustainable harvests were brought to a halt by the Western Australian government in 1969 when it protected crocdiles. In 1971 the Northern Territory government granted the saltwater crocodile total protection and Queensland followed in 1974.
Over the next decade the crocodile populations made a remarkable recovery. Protection, plus a nucleus of very wary but healthy breeding stock deep in inaccessible breeding grounds, led to a crocodile revival. In the late seventies crocodile sightings became more common. After several well-publicised crocodile attacks, fears that a growing crocodile population would interfere with and inhibit a growing human population led to a more proactive form of crocodile conservation in the Northern Territory. A major public education campaign was undertaken to encourage people to treat crocodiles sensibly and with caution.

Crocodile farms and public education
Farming crocodiles was seen as a necessary part of protecting these animals and 'sustainable usage' was believed to be one way of ensuring that wild crocodiles would not again be killed indiscriminately to service the large international market for crocodile skins and other products.
'Sustainable usage' involves the collection of eggs from wild nests, with payment for the eggs being made to landowners who protect the nests. The eggs are then sold to crocodile farms which raise the hatchlings and use the skin for fashion goods.
Extensive surveys of wild populations are an integral part of the recovery plan and to date such surveys indicate that harvesting of eggs has had no discernible impact on numbers of saltwater crocodiles in the wild.
Education has also played a key role in protecting the saltwater crocodile. Campaigns aimed at raising community awareness about the behaviour of this creature, along with the need to protect freshwater breeding areas, have been highly successful over the last two decades. Signs explaining correct safety measures in areas inhabited by saltwater crocodiles are now a common sight in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Internet information
On October 2, 2008, federal parliamentarian Bob Katter called for a cull of crocodiles that posed a risk to human beings.  The Daily Telegraph published the full text of Bob Katter's cull proposal under the title, 'Shoot every croc until you find the killer'.
The full text of Mr Katter's remarks can be found at http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,24434551-2,00.html

On October 3, 2008, The Brisbane Times published an article citing scientists and others critical of Bob Katter's call for a crocodile cull.  The article was titled, 'Croc cull a "rubbish" response'.  The full text of this article can be found at http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/croc-cull-a-rubbish-response/2008/10/02/1222651263022.html

On October 3, The Cairns Post published a similar article citing a range of critics of Bob Katter's proposal.  The article is titled, 'Croc cull call sparks anger'.  The full text of the article can be found at http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/10/03/8561_local-news.html

A tourist information site Dive the Reef has a variety of information on Australia's crocodlies.  This includes the difference between freshwater and saltwater crocodiles and advice on crocodile-safe behaviour.  This information can be found at http://www.divethereef.com/Guides/AboutCrocs.asp

The tourist information site, Outback Australia, also gives detailed information on Australia's crocodiles including a detailed account of the number of deaths officially attributed to crocodiles since they were protected.  This information can be found at http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/australian_crocodiles.html

The full text of the Queensland Government's 'Risk assessment report into crocodiles in the freshwater section of the Fitzroy River' can be found at https://www.epa.qld.gov.au/publications/p01685aa.pdf/Risk_assessment_report_into_crocodiles_in_the_freshwater_section_of_the_Fitzroy_River.pdf

The full text of Queensland's 'Nature Conservation (Estuarine Crocodile) Conservation Plan 2007 and Management Program 2007-2017' can be found at http://epa.qld.gov.au/publications/p02259aa.pdf/Nature_Conservation_Estuarine_Crocodile_Conservation_Plan_2007_and_Management_Program_20072017.pdf
This is a valuable and detailed document which gives the saltwater crocodiles' current conservation status, details of its distribution and population density and Queensland's management strategy for saltwater crocodiles.

Arguments in favour of culling saltwater crocodiles
1. Saltwater crocodiles are no longer endangered
It has been claimed that crocodiles no longer need the level of protection they have been afforded in north Australian states and territories since the early 1970s.  Then crocodile numbers were in serious decline and they had been classed as 'endangered'.  Now, many claim, numbers have revived to the point where it should be possible to cull these animals without having an impact on the species survival.
Hinchinbrook MP, Mr Andrew Cripps, has stated, 'It is no longer the case that crocodiles are endangered as far as the numbers in the wild are concerned.'
Saltwater crocodiles are listed as 'Vulnerable' wildlife in Schedule 3 of the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006.   Their status is regarded as particularly problematic in Queensland due to a shortage of breeding grounds. There are those who maintain that their increase in numbers Australia-wide makes it reasonable to cull them in areas where they pose a risk to human beings.

2.  Saltwater crocodile numbers are growing at an unsustainable rate
Mick Pitman, who has spent nearly three decades catching crocodiles and selling crocodile products has stated, 'When you're getting the numbers that are kicking around at the moment and the people that are around at the moment, you've got to draw a balance and it's just not happening over there in Queensland. It's not happening at all.'
Referring to Queensland's crocodile numbers, federal Parliamentarian, Bob Katter, has stated, 'Nature is completely out of whack. Where we had no crocodiles at all now in these rivers, some of them will have 80 or 100.'
Mr Katter has further claimed, 'I'm a fourth generation North Queenslander and not in my handed-down history have I ever seen anything like the numbers of crocodiles we are seeing now.
All of our population is a stone's throw from the beach, or an estuary, or a river where these crocodiles live.
You'll find them about a kilometre from the main street of Ingham - I mean, they're wandering into people's backyards...
Each female crocodile lays up to 80 eggs a year and in the old days only four or five survived to maturity.
They were preyed on by the first Australians and by species such as dingos, goannas, snakes, barramundi and groper, which just don't exist in the same numbers. Now virtually all these eggs are surviving.'
Crocodile numbers have increased in the Territory to about 70,000 from a low of 3000 in 1971 when they were first protected from wholesale culling.
In places like Kakadu, which in 2003 attracted more than 170,000 visitors, the battle is to manage an expanding, and fully protected, crocodile population.
2003 was called the 'year of the crocodiles' in Kakadu. Park workers experienced an unusually heavy workload. In one incident, a young girl near a Kakadu outstation was wounded by a two-metre saltwater crocodile.
The wet season usually provides a lull in crocodile activity, because the animals are more dispersed across the region, but Garry Lindner, who is in charge of the park's crocodile management, said within the one week in 2004 a young boy discovered a three-metre crocodile crawling close to an outstation house.  While another was run over while crossing a Kakadu highway and became tucker for a local Aboriginal man.

3.  Saltwater crocodiles pose an unacceptable threat to humans
Saltwater crocodiles are distinct from freshwater crocodiles in that they grow to be much larger and they are far more aggressive.
Saltwater crocodiles are generally regarded as the most dangerous animals in Australia. They are large, territorial and aggressive and occur in significant numbers across the north of the Australia. Australian saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptile in the world in terms of mass (they can be over 1000kg), and the largest crocodile with a confirmed measurement. The males can reach a length of up to six or seven metres, though such a size is rare. Anything over five metres in very uncommon. Females reach two and a half to three metres.  
This is a large headed species with a heavy set of jaws which can exert a pressure of several tons.
The territorial behaviour of the male saltwater crocodiles forces the young crocodiles out of the region in which they have been raised. They have to find an unoccupied territory for themselves. If they are unable to do that they will either be killed or be forced out to sea. Here they will move around until they find another river system. This behaviour helps to account for the wide spread of saltwater crocodile populations and increases the likelihood of their coming into contact with human settlements.
Saltwater crocodile attacks occur on a regular basis (though mostly to pets and livestock, not humans). Between 1985 and 2006, there were 17 attacks by crocodiles in Australia, five of which were fatal. In 2002 a 23 year old German tourist is taken in Kakadu National Park when swimming in a billabong at night time. In 2003 a 22 year old Northern Territory man is taken after wading too far into the Finniss River near Darwin. Three fatal crocodile attacks occurred in 2005. A man was grabbed by his arm and pulled from his canoe in northern Queensland. The other two crocodile attacks occurred in the ocean waters of the Northern Territory coast. The fatal 2008 attack has already been outlined above.
There are those who maintain that saltwater crocodiles pose an unacceptable threat to human beings and have gone so far as to propose not simply that they should be culled but that they should be deliberately hunted out.

4.  Crocodile depredations may damage the tourist industry
It has been suggested that every crocodile attack has a serious adverse effect on the tourist industry.   After the recent death of Arthur Booker local members of the tourist industry have claimed that the effect on the tourist trade has been damaging.
Dave Swinburn, the manager of Pleasure Divers on Magnetic Island, has claimed that every day   a relocated  'rogue' crocodile went uncaught brought him a step closer to unemployment. Mr Swinburn has stated that the dive shop has lost about $6000 in the two weeks that swimming areas and dive sites were declared off limits.
'It's getting to crisis point now,' Mr Swinburn said. 'There are no backpackers any more. It's like a ghost town around here. It's the quiet time of the season, but not this quiet.'
Townsville Labor MP Mike Reynolds has further stated, 'The presence of this large crocodile on the shores of Magnetic Island has had a strong social and economic impact on residents, business owners and tourists.'
In response to the same crocodile attack, Opposition Tourism and Small Business spokesman, Rob Messenger, has called on the state government to compensate Townsville business owners and tourism operators that have lost thousands of dollars.'
It has further been suggested that Australia's attractiveness as a holiday destination, especially for families, may be seriously harmed if it is believed that rivers and other waterways are unsafe. Crocodiles may have some appeal for those seeking an adventure holiday or a safari type of experience. They are more likely to have a negative effect on those merely wishing to sightsee and enjoy Australia's natural environment.  Those with young children are particularly unlikely to see any country with a dangerous crocodile population as an desirable tourist destination.

5.  Any culling would be strictly regulated and for crocodile population control purposes and human and stock safety only
Supporters of crocodile culling generally stress that any such action would be strictly regulated and would be undertaken only for public safety and crocodile population purposes, not with the commercial intent for which earlier, uncontrolled crocodile shootings were undertaken.
This point was made in 2005 by the Queensland Liberal Opposition.  The Opposition Leader, Lawrence Springborg, said a cull should be considered, 'I think we shouldn't be lighthearted on this because there is a public safety issue here. It is now time to act and look seriously at the issue of controlled culls of crocodiles.'
Since 2003, pastoralists along the Western Australian - Northern Territory border have sought the re-introduction of controlled culling of saltwater crocodiles. A limited number of crocodiles are removed from the Ord and Victoria Rivers under permit, but some stations are losing more than 300 cattle a year. Again, strict records would be kept of any crocodiles that had to be shot to protect livestock.
Currently in the Northern Territory up to 600 saltwater crocodiles are culled by professional wildlife officers annually.  In 2005, when commercial crocodile safaris had been proposed by the northern Territory government, the then federal Environment Minister, Ian Campbell, noted that there was a big difference between controlled culling and amateur hunting.
Advocates of crocodile culling maintain that the Northern Territory program should be extended into other parts of Australia.

6.  Crocodile relocation is a failure
Currently in Queensland crocodiles believed to pose a threat to human settlement are relocated.  This relocation scheme has been condemned as ineffective and poorly implemented.
Government's crocodile relocation policies have been blamed for two fatal attacks since 2005, including on Vietnam veteran Arthur Booker in September.
The Queensland Environment Minister, Andrew McNamara, yesterday said the wrong crocodile had been shot following a fatal attack involving Townsville man Barry Jefferies - who died at Lakefield National Park in 2005 - after an anonymous letter purporting to be from a Queensland Parks and Wildlife officer was tabled by the Opposition in State Parliament.
The killer crocodile was reportedly returned to the river by the State Government. The letter claims that the two fatal crocodile attacks, both of which occurred on Cape York, were 'closely connected with (Queensland Parks and Wildlife's) ill-conceived, unnecessary and poorly managed crocodile research/relocation management decisions'.
The claims come after the state Government was criticised for relocating a crocodile that ended up at Magnetic Island, near Townsville, where it menaced beachgoers. The crocodile was later captured and later died in captivity.
The letter alleges the animals involved in the fatal attacks on Barry Jeffries, at Lakefield National Park in August 2005, and Booker, at Cooktown, were known to the Government as 'dangerous crocodiles'.
The letter also claims there is a 'culture of secrecy, deceit and intimidation' in the department and that staff who oppose the relocation or release of dangerous crocodiles are harassed by management.
It has also been claimed that the relocation policy is fundamentally faulted as the territorial behaviour of established male crocodiles means that younger male crocodiles will roam until they find unclaimed territory and relocated crocodiles may return to the areas  from which they have been moved.

Arguments against culling saltwater crocodiles
1.  No area can be made crocodile-free  
Professor Craig Franklin, a crocodile expert at the University of Queensland, has warned that culling crocodiles in a particular area would be 'no solution'.
The professor has noted that crocodiles can cover large distances in a very short time and that because an area had had its current largest crocodiles shot, this would be no guarantee that they would not soon be replaced by others.  Indeed the territoriality of large male crocodiles means the younger males have to find relatively crocodile-free areas in which to establish themsleves.  Once crocodiles in a given area had been shot, that would simply mean it had become open territory for other crocodiles to move into.
Professor Franklin has stated, 'Animals move up and down the coastline and can move 30 kilometres in a day. You can never guarantee that an area will be safe.'

2.  A crocodile cull might encourage human complacency
It has further been claimed that the best guarantee of human safety is appropriate human behaviour.  People need to behave cautiously near water where there might be crocodiles.
Professor Craig Franklin, a crocodile expert at the University of Queensland, has warned that if people that a crocodile cull meant that a particular area was now safe, they were likely to behave cautiously and this could cost them their lives.   Professor Franklin has warned that the risks posed by such complacency are very real as no cull could ever guarantee there would be no crocodiles in a particular region.
Professor Franklin has stated, 'Culling these animals would only lead to more danger as it would lead people into a false sense of security.'
Another Queensland crocodile expert, Gordon Grigg has also noted that culling is futile.  Mr Grigg has stated, 'You can never be sure you've got them all, and it risks giving people a false sense of security.'
David Leyden, head curator at Hartley's Creek Crocodile Farm, is similarly concerned about the impact of a false sense of security on human behaviour.  Mr Leyden notes that whether a crocodile has been shot of shifted it is only a matter of time before it is replaced.
Mr Leyden has claimed, 'Crocodiles are very mobile animals, and can migrate up and down the coast. Humans always need to be careful in this area, for a croc could have recently moved into an area.'
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service scientist, Dr Mark Read, has said that while any crocodile-related fatality was deeply regretted, the incidence of saltwater crocodiles attacking people was very low, and that risks could be reduced by people adopting crocodile-safe behaviour. He said educating people about being 'croc safe' in crocodile country was the key to managing crocodile risks - not culling.
Dr Read has claimed, 'Culling only lures people into unsafe and complacent behaviours, as it is impossible and undesirable to remove all crocodiles from the environment.'

3. Crocodile numbers are not increasing in an unsustainable manner
Zoologist and professional research fellow at the University of Queensland, Professor Craig Franklin, has disputed claims of uncontrolled crocodile population growth.  Professor Franklin has stated, 'There's been little or no growth of populations.'
Professor Franklin claims that among those who assert that there is such crocodile population growth some are driven by politics to exaggerate the crocodile threat, while others want to exploit the animal.
Professor Franklin has stated that there is limited data, but a study of the river at the centre of the latest crocodile attack in which Mr Booker was killed shows a population decline.
Professor Franklin has noted, 'The Endeavour River was surveyed in 2000 and along 17 kilometres of river, there were 12 animals spotted. In 2007, 11 animals were spotted over 23 kilometres of river.'
The professor has stated that while in some areas in the Northern Territory there does appear to have been large growth in crocodile populations, this is not the case in Queensland.  Professor Franklin has explained, 'The crocodile habitat in Queensland is a lot poorer than the Northern Territory and hence the populations just haven't recovered like they have in the Northern Territories.'
A wildlife administrator, National Parks far northern director, Mr Clive Cook, stated in 2006 that Queensland's crocodile population is still recovering more than 30 years after the end of commercial hunting.
Surveys on Cape York and in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the state's far north have estimated the crocodile population at about 30,000. Mr Cook has stated that of these more than 90 per cent are classed as sub-adult juveniles.
Mr Cook noted, 'As the animals grow and the larger adults displace the other ones, there is a tendency for the range to spread but it is restricted obviously.'  Mr Cook claims that generalisations about the total extent of Australia's crocodile population cannot be made from particular sightings.
'The dynamics of the population are in a state of flux really,' he has claimed.
The Queensland Environment Minister, Andrew McNamara, has a similar view.  Mr McNamara has stated, 'The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has recently done an assessment of crocodile numbers on the eastern side of the Cape and have found they have only slightly increased in a number of years. It has one crocodile every two kilometres - it's not particularly a high density area.'

4.  Sensible human behaviour is the best means of reducing the risk crocodiles pose
It has been noted that as removal or shooting out of crocodiles from a given area would not stop relocated or other crocodile moving to that region, the only reasonable way of reducing human risk is to modify human behaviour.  To that end, the Western Australian, Northern Territory and Queensland governments have introduced public education campaigns to prompt tourists and others to behave cautiously in areas where crocodiles are known to be.
In 2005, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) implemented recommendations from a risk assessment on crocodiles in the Fitzroy River.
QPWS Regional Director Keith Twyford said, 'I must stress that croc trapping does not equal croc-safe rivers.
QPWS research is showing these are very mobile animals and they return to areas they were taken from, or are replaced by other crocs if removed... Many of the risks identified ... are the result of people putting themselves in danger and not using 'Crocwise' behaviour.
The Crocwise public education campaign will be stepped up, encouraging the community to live safely with crocodiles. Warning signage should be installed at several locations within the Rockhampton, Fitzroy and Livingstone council areas as a priority.'
Mr Twyford further said 'The removal of problem crocodiles from the Fitzroy River does not equal a safe river that people can use without considering the presence of crocodiles.'
It has been claaimed that crocodiles are a part of life in the north, and that people who chose to camp or fish in crocodile-infested waters needed to be on guard.
Australia Zoo senior wildlife ranger, Barry Lyon, has claimed that people need to be educated to behave appropriately around crocodiles.
'Stay out of the water, camp well away from the water, go fishing in a good sturdy high sided boat,' Mr Lyon has advised..
Mr Lyon has also warned campers against throwing food scraps or fish carcasses into the river. He has advised, 'That attracts crocs, that's like fast food for them, and it puts people in a very dangerous situation.'
According to a range of environmental authorities the key to saving human lives in crocodile territory is to have tourists and others behave sensibly.

5.  Crocodiles are important to the ecology of the areas where they live
It has been claimed that as the top predators, crocodiles have a vital part to play in the ecology of waterways and rivers in norther Australia.  Without them, it has been suuggested, the popuations of other species lower down on the food chain would become out of balance.
Australia Zoo senior wildlife ranger, Barry Lyon, has said crocodiles, because of their place at the top of the food chain, were an essential part of river and lagoon eco systems in the north. He further noted that extensive hunting of the large reptiles following World War II had a massive impact on river systems in the area.
Mr Lyon has stated, 'The eco systems were so out of balance that catfish were hugely abundant, we'd go fishing and you might catch 20 cat fish for one barra. Since then the crocodiles have recovered and now you hardly ever catch a catfish - that's a good example of how they keep the whole system healthy.
Australia Zoo director, Mr Wes Manion, who was a friend of the late crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin, has also claimed that crocodiles play an extremely important role in ecological systems.
'A lot of people who have that redneck attitude have no idea about how important crocodiles are for the rivers,' Mr Manion has stated..
Australia Zoo says because of their place at the top of the food chain, crocodiles are an essential part of river and lagoon ecosystems in the north.
A similar point has been made by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service scientist, Dr Mark Read,   who has claimed, 'Crocodiles are an integral part of freshwater, estuarine and marine environments and removal of these animals from the ecosystem could affect other species, including commercially important species like barramundi and mudcrabs.'

6.  Crocodiles are an important tourist attraction
Those opposed to culling crocodiles have claimed that Australia's native saltwater crocodile populations are an important attraction for tourists coming to Australia.
Queensland's Tourism Minister, Desley Boyle, has claimed saltwater crocodiles in urban areas are an attraction rather than a deterrent and can give cheap thrills to international tourists. Ms Boyle told the Queensland Parliament in Cairns that crocodiles in waters close to populated areas lured tourists and provided them with photo opportunities. Ms Boyle insisted tourists were fascinated with crocodiles and would frequent locations where they could experience them first-hand.
'The last time one [a crocodile] was spotted in waters fairly close to Cairns Esplanade, the tourists flocked there in some numbers with their cameras and absolutely enjoyed taking photographs,' Ms Doyle has said. 'The fascination with our wildlife, including our dangerous wildlife, is a drawcard to tourists in the tropics, far from it being a barrier or a means of dissuading them from coming.'
Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, has also claimed that crocodiles were a 'tourist drawcard'.
Similar claims have been made about the value of crocodiles as a tourist attraction in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. A tourist attraction at the Adelaide River crossing in the Northern Territory is the 'jumping crocodiles'; the resident Estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles are fed with meat, dangling from a line.
In October 2003 a German tourist was attacked and killed by a crocodile in Kakadu National Park.  Initially there were fears that this tragedy might discourage tourists from coming to the Northern Territory.  Subsequent studies have revealed that the opposite may actually be the case.
Northern Territory University academic, Dr Pascal Tremblay, monitored the international media coverage of the death and was shocked with what he discovered.  Dr Tremblay has claimed that the images that were diffused overseas were actually positive from a tourism industry viewpoint.
In Germany, for instance, the sort of images that were portrayed were the escarpment and Kakadu National Park as a beautiful place, while rugged.
Dr Tremblay has stated, 'In terms of that market specifically, I think that, interestingly it has had a positive impact, because the Germans, or the sort of Germans that specifically we try to attract here, are looking for adventure in the outdoors and ruggedness.'

Further implications
It seems unlikely that a culling program will be introduced in the immediate future.  The current Queensland crocodile management strategy is intended to extend until 2017.  What has attracted immediate critical attention on crocodile management policies in Queensland are two deaths over the last four years, one of which seems to have been in part attributable to improper treatment of a crocodile formerly recognised as a threat to human beings.
There have been claims that the state's crocodile relocation program is severely faulted and has been badly implemented.  In this context call for the culling of Queensland saltwater crocodiles might almost be expected.
However, critics of crocodile culling note that Queensland is not the Northern Territory.  In the Northern Territory crocodile numbers have grown dramatically since saltwater crocodiles were protected in the early 1970s.  However, the growth of saltwater crocodile numbers in Queensland has been far slower and the species is still classed as 'vulnerable'.  This has been largely attributable to disruption of crocodile hatching sites, in large part because of increased settlement.
A dramatic growth in population and development in Queensland has had two opposing consequences.  One is that crocodile population growth is being held back; however, the other consequence is that with increased human habitation in a wider range of territory the likelihood of saltwater crocodiles and human beings coming into unfavourable contact with each other is greater.
It has to be acknowledged, however, that the problem is as much that human beings are in crocodile territory as that crocodiles are in human territory.
The Queensland Government is proposing a revamping of its crocodile-wise education campaign.  The focus of this campaign is that human beings need to be educated to behave cautiously and appropriately in areas where they are likely to encounter saltwater crocodiles.
In the Northern Territory, on the other hand, where crocodile numbers have grown much more rapidly, there is already a regulated culling program in operation.  Under this program some 600 saltwater crocodiles are culled annually. It has been proposed that this program be extended into commercial safari hunting for a limited number of crocodiles each year.  This proposal has been rejected by the federal government on the basis that any culling undertaken by amateur safari hunters would be likely to result in some crocodiles either being injured but not killed or  killed inhumanely.  It seems unlikely that any renewed application to have 'culling' conducted by amateur safari hunters would be likely to win federal government approval.

Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline
The Australian:  October 2, page 3, news item by Murphy and Gurney, `Croc victim wanted to see the country he fought for'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24433862-5006786,00.html

The Herald-Sun, October 1, page 9, news item by Michael and Williams, `Croc takes Vietnam vet'.
No internet link

The Herald-Sun, October 13, news item (photos) by Michael and Williams, `Wrong crocodile shot before man's death'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24644900-662,00.html

The Australian:  October 1, page 3, news items by Padraic Murphy, Robert Reid, `Vietnam veteran snatched by croc / Close encounters with Cooktown carnivores'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24428682-2702,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24428016-5006786,00.html

The Australian:  October 6, page 3, news item  by Padraic Murphy, `Croc to be X-rayed for victim'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24450638-5006786,00.html

The Australian:  October 4, page 3, news item, `Hunt for suspected croc victim halted'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24444071-5006786,00.html

The Australian:  October 3, page 3, news item by Murphy and Roberts, `Croc suspected of snatching veteran a menace "for years"'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24438314-2702,00.html

The Australian:  October 14, page 3, news item, `Human remains in crocodile's stomach'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24492623-5006786,00.html

The Australian:  October 18, page 12, news item by Sarah Elks, `Croc victim "great bloke and patriot"'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24513643-5006786,00.html

The Australian:  November 13, page 7, news item by S Elks, `Policies blamed for fatal crocodile attacks'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24643912-5006786,00.html

The Australian:  November 28, page 13, analysis by Robert Reid 'Peril that lurks by the riverbank' - with book extract, 'Death of a monster'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24717164-30417,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24717163-30417,00.html