‘Pure fearmongering’: Wildlife advocates blast Katter Party over croc cull call

“Idiotic” and “shameless” is how wildlife educators and croc cruise operators have described the Katter Party’s call for crocodiles to be culled in the Far North.

A 3.8m estuarine crocodile was removed from a creek near Mackay last year.

“Idiotic” and “shameless” is how wildlife educators and croc cruise operators have described the Katter Party’s call for crocodiles to be culled in the Far North.

The Katter Party’s call for a cull came after News Corp revelations that Queensland experienced a record number of crocodile sightings last year as debate continues over whether reptile numbers should be kept in check.

According to data from the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, there were 1216 saltwater or estuarine crocodile sightings reported in 2023, smashing the previous record of 1185 set in 2021.

Politician Robbie Katter.

The numbers are a huge increase on a decade ago, when there were just 336 sightings reported to the department.

In response to the figures Traeger MP Robbie Katter said it was “absurd” that crocodiles could not be culled despite the growth of populations and the danger posed to humans.

“You can cull pigs, wild dogs, kangaroos, we’ve even had culls of koalas in Australia, but a man-eating animal that threatens our lives, you can’t touch,” he said.

He called on Queensland to look to the Northern Territory, where crocodiles in proximity to Darwin are culled.

“We could do that around Cairns and five or so other centres in the north and it would still only represent a fraction of the total crocodile population.”

However, Matt Cornish, a wildlife educator from the Community Representation of Crocodiles group, told the Cairns Post he regarded Mr Katter’s comments are “pure fearmongering”.

Mr Katter’s proposal, he said, was “idiotic and dangerous”.

“If you start removing crocs then people will assume it is safe to swim and then incidents will occur,” Mr Cornish said.

Mr Cornish said crocodiles are already listed as vulnerable in the Far North and that he believed the increased in sightings has only come about because the Queensland Government had been promoting its wildlife map app.

“If 100 people see the same crocodile that is recorded as 100 crocodiles” he said.

“How do we determine whether this is too many of these animals?”

Matt Cornish describes the croc cull as "idiotic and dangerous"

Kiana Lafferty, owner/operator of the Daintree River Cruise Centre, said Mr Katter should “focus on issues in his electorate” and not “waste time … advocating for the culling of wildlife”.

“The increase in sightings has everything to do with the advent of mobile phone apps and online portals,” Ms Lafftery said.

“Most people reporting crocodile sightings are excited to see these animals in the wild - they are not frightened or threatened by them. This grandstanding on Robbie’s behalf is a shameless grab for some media attention to boost his profile in an election year.”

Queensland Environment Minister Leanne Linard said culls were not on the agenda.

“(We) are committed to managing estuarine crocodiles in a way that protects the public while enabling the continual survival of these iconic animals in the wild,” she said.

Mr Cornish said he commended the state government for ruling out culling and said crocs exist “within a natural ecosystem that has self-managed long before humans did”.

“It’s about time the Katter Party started paying attention to science.”

Originally published as ‘Pure fearmongering’: Wildlife advocates blast Katter Party over croc cull call