Right: Queensland MP Bob Katter scorned crocodile park owner Terri Irwin, suggesting she should "keep her mouth shut".
Arguments against culling crocodiles in northern Queensland
1. Crocodiles are a significant species in terms of their evolutionary history and their ecological importance Crocodiles are among the world's oldest surviving species and as apex predators play a significant role in maintaining the health of north Queensland ecosystems. Not only are crocodiles among the world's oldest surviving species, they are descended from reptiles that are even older. In an article published by the Smithsonian Magazine on November 9, 2012, it was noted, ' While crocodylians as we know them today-the alligators, gharials and crocodiles that live at the water's edge-have been around for about 85 million years, they belong to a much more diverse and disparate group of creatures that goes back to the Triassic.' The article continued, 'Crocodylians are the last living representatives of the crocodylomorpha, an even bigger group that originated over 205 million years ago. They shared the world with the dinosaurs...'  The Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has stressed the significance of crocodile species and thus the importance of preserving them. The Department's Internet site states, 'Today, crocodiles are one of the few remaining links to the prehistoric past. As predator and prey, crocodiles play a valuable role in the health of many aquatic environments.' The Department further explained the importance of crocodile conservation, stating, 'Australia is one of the very few places in the world where estuarine crocodiles have a good chance of survival in the wild, and the only country where the freshwater crocodile is found. Because crocodiles are an important part of the food chain and help keep our wetland environments healthy and stable, protecting them is vitally important.' In 2005, conservationist Steve Irwin stated, 'Crocodiles are apex predators and an important part of our ecosystem - without them our river systems and marine environment will suffer.' Crocodiles' role is explained further on the Internet site of Australia Zoo, which Irwin founded to promote public awareness of the importance of conservation. The site notes, 'Crocodiles are...crucial to the ecosystem, keeping waterways and wetlands healthy. Crocodiles eradicate the weak, sick and injured wildlife, leaving only the healthy to prosper.' They are also credited with keeping the populations of prey species in balance. Not only does their predation affect other species, but birds, snakes, and fish eat crocodile hatchlings, making them a significant food source as well as a predator. 2. Crocodiles are of cultural importance to indigenous Australians and are of value to Queensland tourism Crocodiles are culturally significant to indigenous Australians. Within indigenous culture, a totem is an object or animal in nature that is adopted as a family or clan emblem. Different clans are assigned different totems and in some cases individuals are given personal totems at birth. In the Torres Strait personal pendants are worn and these pendants are mostly carved out of wood, turtle shell or shells and often represent the person's totem. There are well established rules as to when the pendants can be worn, often only allowed during ceremonies or rituals. The crocodile is an important totemic animal. Further, storytelling is an important oral tradition of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Across Australia, Dreaming or creation stories convey how ancestral spirits created all things on earth, such as the land, sea, rivers, mountains, animals and plants. These stories have been handed down for thousands of years. Dreamtime stories portray Indigenous knowledge and understanding of the world and include cautionary tales involving animals, one such story is that of Gunadar the Crocodile. Sarah Addo, a representative of the Kunggandji Kimuy People, said local traditional owners regarded crocodiles as sacred animals within Cairns' waterways, and they would not support a cull. Crocodiles are an important tourist attraction for Queensland. Tourism is Australia's largest service sector export industry, accounting for nearly 10% of total export earnings. The industry directly employs over 500,000 people. Crocodiles are a major tourist attraction throughout northern Australia, both in the wild and in wildlife sanctuaries. Travel North Queensland promotes Hartley's Crocodile Adventures as number one among Cairns' 'Top Six' tourist attractions. As an example of industry development involving crocodiles, Hartley's Creek Crocodile Farm, situated 40 km north of Cairns, is a fully integrated business based on a wildlife park featuring Australian crocodiles, a farming operation based on captive breeding techniques, an export registered crocodile meat processing plant, a reptile tannery and a leather goods factory. The parent company, Austpan Pacific Pty Ltd, employed 35 people within its first two and a half years of operation and is anticipated to employ 90 people when the operation is at full scale. It is estimated that returns from tourism will soon reach an annual income of $3m. Daintree tour operator David White has argued that culling crocodiles would negatively impact on tourism in the region. 3. The threat crocodiles pose to human life has been exaggerated Opponents of crocodile culling argue that the number of human deaths attributable to crocodiles used to justify culling is grossly exaggerated. Recently, for example, Bob Katter claimed that one north Queenslander was being 'torn to pieces by a crocodile every three months'. The RMIT/ABC's Fact-Check disputed Katter's claim, noting, 'Long-term figures from the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection show a rate of one fatal crocodile attack every three years from 1985 to now. These figures accord with data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which is only available to 2016. The department's data shows fatal crocodile attacks in Queensland have increased in recent years, but not to the rate Mr Katter claims. In the past 10 years there were six deaths, a rate of one every 20 months. There was one death per year in the past three years.' The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection register starts in 1985. Between then and now there have been 33 crocodile attacks in Queensland, 11 of them fatal. The department's data shows there has been one attack every year over the 33-year period, and one death every three years. A 2017 research paper published by the CSIRO, Patterns of human-crocodile conflict in Queensland: a review of historical estuarine crocodile management, contains earlier figures. It found that between 1971 and 2015, there were 35 recorded crocodile attacks, 12 of which were fatal. While confirming that attacks have risen in recent years, the paper said a far greater proportion of attacks were fatal between 1971 and 1995 than between 1996 and 2015. The Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has noted that the problem is at least as much related to growing human populations in areas that are crocodile habitats as it is to growing crocodile numbers. The Department has stated, ' The rapid and significant expansion of the human population, the popularity of water-based activities in croc-country, and the suspected recovery in the crocodile population have resulted in an increased likelihood of crocodile sightings and physical interactions between humans and crocodiles.' Crocodile expert, Terri Irwin, has suggested that calls for culling are the result of a perception problem which exaggerates the risk crocodiles represent compared to other dangers human beings face. Irwin has stated, 'Statistically and sadly we have lost nine people in the last 32 years to crocodile strikes, in the same time period that more than 77 people were killed by horses.' 4. The Safer Waterways Bill 2017 threatens the survival of crocodiles Opponents of a cull, as proposed by the Safer Waterways Bill 2017, argue there can be no guarantee that such an action will not drive crocodiles to the brink of extinction as was the case in Queensland before the ban on killing crocodiles was imposed in 1974. Queensland crocodile farmer, Juergen Arnold, is wary of culls. He has conceded that the limited culling of problem reptiles in urban areas might be a 'possibility' but warns against ever again allowing crocodile numbers to plunge close to extinction. Mr Arnold has further stated, 'I don't think they are endangered now. The bigger problem is that their habitat keeps getting smaller.' Others concerned about crocodile survival, however, point to the fact that it is not possible to know what the current crocodile numbers are and just how greatly they are being affected by shrinking habitat as previously unoccupied areas of northern Queensland are used for housing. Sarah Elks, author of a report published in the Weekend Australian on March 23, 2017, stated, 'No one is entirely sure how many crocodiles there are in Queensland. While the Northern Territory government has monitored crocodile numbers annually since the early 1970s, Queensland has never carried out a comprehensive statewide survey. Without that baseline data, it's impossible to tell how successfully crocodile numbers have rebounded in Queensland since the 1974 hunting ban, despite anecdotal reports suggesting the population has exploded.' The Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has stressed how vulnerable to extinction crocodiles remain. It has stated, 'It is estimated that less than one percent of eggs laid by estuarine crocodiles hatch and survive to adulthood. Overheating, flooding and predation by goannas and feral pigs claim a high proportion of unhatched embryos (an estimated 70-80 percent). From the small numbers that do hatch, more than half die in their first year of life, mainly from predation by birds of prey, fish, snake-necked turtles and other crocodiles. Once they have reached maturity their only enemies are each other and humans. Habitat destruction is now considered a major threat to crocodile survival in Queensland. Increasingly, humans are crowding in on crocodile territory - developments in swamps, mangroves and rivers are displacing crocodiles from their homes.' 5. There are better ways to increase human safety Opponents of a cull argue there are more effective measures to increase human safety. On June 2, 2016, The Conversation published a comment by Adam Britton, Senior Research Associate, Charles Darwin University, titled ' Staying safe in crocodile country: culling isn't the answer'. Britton argues, 'The easiest way to keep people safe is to make sure they understand the risks.' Britton argues that in absolute terms and relative to crocodile fatality rates in other countries, the number of people killed by crocodiles in Australia is very small. He attributes this to the good management practices that are in place in Australia. He writes, 'Attack risk in Australia is low, largely because of the success of long-running campaigns to warn people of the dangers of swimming in crocodile-populated waters.' Britton further notes, 'Those who live locally are generally most keenly aware of the dangers. Sadly, a disproportionate number of attack victims are visitors who aren't as aware of the risks. The real problem can therefore be interpreted as a failure to communicate risk and therein lies the solution.' Britton has outlined the safety precautions that need to be taken in order to minimise the risk of crocodile attack. These are: 'don't enter the water in crocodile habitat. In these areas, stay away from the water's edge, don't disturb water consistently in the same place, don't approach or tease crocodiles, camp at least 50 metres from the bank, and don't go out in small, unstable boats.' The 'Crocwise' Education Campaign, in operation in Queensland since October 2001, was developed by the Environment and Heritage Protection Department to inform the public about the value of crocodiles and their habitat. It also provides information about the importance and dangers of crocodiles through various strategies. These include: media announcements, educational posters and brochures, talkback radio, warning signs, ranger talks, displays, stickers, magazine articles and websites. Throughout north and central Queensland, yellow warning signs are placed at access points to waterways where estuarine crocodiles might live. Opponents of a cull further suggest that such action may actually increase the risk of attack rather than reduce it. Critics of culling have argued that the measure may make people less safety-conscious because they believe they are no longer at risk. In an opinion piece published in The Conversation on December 10, 2012, Grahame Webb, Adjunct Professor, Environment & Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, stated, ' The idea that culling the wild population as a whole would help public safety may be true if the cull was very severe, and aimed at bringing the population back to the pre-protection levels. However, if the population was reduced by say one half: "which politician would say it is now safe to go back into the water?". It clearly would not be safe. Is it safer to see abundant crocodiles in a wetland, where swimming would not even be considered, or be lulled into a false sense of security by having a lesser number of more wary crocodiles?' |
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