Crocodile culling warning: Terri Irwin blasts Katter’s Australian Party plans

Animal conservationist Terri Irwin has blasted the Katter’s Australian Party’s latest crocodile crackdown as a copy-and-paste job, warning the proposal will “open a Pandora’s box” and drag Queensland back to a dark era in its past.

Animal conservationist Terri Irwin has blasted the Katter’s Australian Party’s latest crocodile crackdown as a copy-and-paste job, warning the proposal will “open a Pandora’s box” and drag Queensland back to the “dark and destructive” pre-1970s era of wildlife control.

Dr Irwin disputed claims the bill would reduce crocodile attacks, accusing its author, Hill MP Shane Knuth, of being more upset about crocodile warning signs than the actual attacks themselves.

“We will be turning the clock back to the dark and destructive days prior to the 1970s,” she said.

Her criticism echoed her vocal opposition to a similar crocodile management bill in 2016, which was also slammed at the time by then-Labor environment minister Steven Miles.

But in February, KAP MP Shane Knuth reignited the debate, calling for a fresh parliamentary inquiry into crocodile management amid what he described as increased sightings and growing populations.

Member for Kennedy Bob Katter. Picture: Evan Morgan

Terri Irwin.

Mr Knuth said the bill was designed to eliminate crocodiles that posed a threat to human life in Queensland waterways.

In response, the Australia Zoo director cited 35 references — including decades of research by herself and her late husband Steve Irwin — to denounce the bill as “poorly researched and poorly drafted”.

A key change from the earlier failed legislation was the removal of the term “rogue crocodiles”, replaced instead with so-called “zero-tolerance zones”.

Dr Irwin said the idea would be unenforceable and dangerous.

She warned the plan would give Queenslanders and tourists a false sense of security by implying some waterways were safe.

“Crocodiles have developed over thousands of years as the ultimate ambush predators, the whole reason they have existed for so long is they have evolved to be covert and invisible in their natural habitat,” Dr Irwin said.

“Yet this bill will magically identify and remove all crocodiles from large sections of our waterways, while preventing other crocodiles from entering these zones.”

She also rejected KAP claims of a crocodile “explosion” in Queensland, citing scientific evidence showing numbers had stabilised in recent years.

Dr Irwin said apparent territory expansion was often misinterpreted, with multiple sightings often attributable to a single crocodile moving through an area.