Jayden Wilson, 27, guilty of taking crocodiles from Ross River
A would-be crocodile hunter who pulled crocodiles from an NQ river then uploaded footage to TikTok has received a huge fine. See the videos.
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A would-be crocodile hunter who pulled crocodiles from the Ross River then uploaded the images and videos to TikTok has been fined $12,000 in the Townsville Magistrates Court.
Jayden Wilson, 27, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of taking protected animals, under the Nature Conservation Act.
Ms Katy Kutra, prosecuting for the Department of Environment and science, told the court that Wilson had been snatching mainly young freshwater crocodiles from the river between November 2020 and November 2021.
She said following a complaint from the public relating to cruelty to protected animals, officers attended Wilson’s Townsville home and took possession of a mobile phone.
On it they discovered numerous images that had been uploaded to Tik Tok of Wilson taking crocodiles from the water using a lasso, net or his hands.
She said one lot of Tik Tok images had attracted 125,000 views and a second 309,000.
Ms Kutra asked for a fine of $20,000 and told Chief Magistrate Ross Mack that the maximum penalty for that offence was $163,000.
Mr Mack described that figure as ‘astronomical.’
He said: “What an idiot,” then asked Ms Kutra, “Would you do what he did?
“He has not gone out with a single ounce of sense to do the things he did.”
Mr Wilson’s defence barrister, Mathai Joshi, said his client had not acted out of cruelty towards the crocodiles and it had been a case of catch and release.
He said Wilson had not received any payment or monetary gain for his actions of uploading the phone images on to the Tik Tok site.
Mr Joshi said Wilson had a fascination with crocodiles and did not intend them any harm when he caught them.
Mr Mack described Wilson as ‘such a clown’ to engage in that behaviour over a 12 month period towards a species that had once been endangered.
He said he could not imagine too many other people jumping in the river to follow his actions but that ‘everyone north of Byron Bay’ knew that crocodiles were a protected species.
Mr Mack said he had to set a penalty that would act as a deterrent to others and to protect the Queensland community and environment.
He fined Wilson $12,000, ordered that he pay $1500 in costs and recorded a conviction.
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Originally published as Jayden Wilson, 27, guilty of taking crocodiles from Ross River
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