Call to cull cannibal crocs - Oz Press Item
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Inviato da Wes von Papineäu on Giugno 03, 2000 at 20:53:01:
THE AGE (Melbourne, Australia) 02 June 00 Call to cull cannibal crocs
Cooktown (AAP): A spate of crocodile cannibalism has prompted calls for a bounty system to be introduced in north Queensland to eliminate large rogue crocs.
A four metre crocodile was found ravaged by a cannibal croc this week in the Endeavour River near Cooktown.
Cooktown's resident croc expert Mick Pitman found a five and a half metre killer swimming around the remains when he inspected the site.
Graham Elms, the Cook Shire Mayor and chairman of the South East Cape York Crocodile Management Group, said today this was the third crocodile to be killed by cannibalism in the area.
'The dead one was an asset as he was the tourist croc. He'd been torn to pieces and left lying,' Mr Elms said.
A tender bounty system to eliminate rogue crocs has been firmly opposed by Queensland's Department of Environment.
Mr Elms said tenders of up to $500,000 had been put forward for a five metre or larger crocodile.
But he said existing Department Of Environment Management policy legislation would need to be amended before the bounty could be collected.
'I've got backing for the idea from the (neighbouring) Etheridge and Douglas Shires' he said.
'Crocs are cannibals and very territorial. If you get a male or female in a specific area they'll live their life out there from a 100 to 200 years.
'I believe an animal up to 12 foot is not a threat to other animals or humans but once they're up to 18 feet they become an awkward beast to handle.'
Mick Pitman, who has conducted his own investigation into crocodile populations in north Queensland, says numbers have reached dangerously high levels.
'They've even spotted a four metre one as far south as Mackay,' the croc man said.
But a recent report by Queensland Parks And Wildlife crocodile expert Mark Reid presented to the Cooktown Crocodile Management Group last week does not substantiate concern about the local outcry about the crocodile population explosion.
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