At a Mareeba Chamber of Commerce meeting on Wednesday , Environment and Heritage Protection Chief Prosecutions officer David Cook, agreed to remove all crocodiles from the Mareeba area after positive sightings had been confirmed by the department. Helicopter surveillance would begin starting July 24, 2017, Mr Cook said.
He agreed to give local crocodile farm owner Juergen Arnold a permit, allowing him to remove crocodiles from the area for relocation to his croc farm.
“Mr Arnold will be handed a permit this weekend,” Mr Cook told the meeting.
After the meeting Mr Cook admitted, following Australia-wide publicity, the attack on a cane worker had brought the crocodile plague in the Mareeba farming district to a head.
The aerial surveillance would initially be carried out over one day, but Mr Cook said officers would respond immediately to any sightings. The EHP officers agreed if a crocodile could not be trapped or caught and transported to a croc farm it would be culled.
The Safer Waterways bill, designed to remove crocs from populated areas and tabled by Member for Dalrymple Shane Knuth, is before the Environment Committee for consideration.
Mr Knuth however, fears the Labor Government will attempt to delay its passage until after the upcoming state election.
“I intend to move a motion at the next sittings to have the bill debated. We can’t afford any more accidents like the Mareeba attack,” Mr Knuth said.
Well said Michael. The crocs will be dealt with after KAP legislation is passed. It will be a real test for the Liberals who feel all fuzzy and warm when talking about protecting crocs to their Brisbane supporters. Strangely the Libs have not said peep about a farm worker who was bitten on the hand or any of the ensuing publicity where 90 per cent of letter writers, councils and farmers have demanded crocs be culled. Typically, Libs cannot be trusted about croc removal or proposed legislation to restrict ammo sales and ‘illegal’ firearms. It is hard to fathom how a firearm can be illegal? It is an inert object and none of us have ever seen one get up and harm somebody. Bit like a parked car really. Thanks for your comments. Ed
Why would any Government favour crocodiles over their potential victims? Why cannot an Aboriginal youngster swim in a waterhole in safety? Why cannot tourists spend their money in the north without having to update their wills? Crocodiles are oviparous which means they can multiply very rapidly. There is no danger whatever of them becoming extinct. There is no reason why any salt-water croc needs to exist outside of a crocodile farm or a zoo. What is wrong with legitimate hunters converting dangerous crocs to useful shoes, belts, handbags and jerky? Well done Shane Knuth and Bob Katter.
Johno, well said and quite accurate. Ed
There is no problem to do with estuarine crocodiles ‘interacting’ with people that cannot be quickly solved by relocating the upper management personnel of the QPWS and sundry politicians to live, work and recreate alongside crocodile habitat, be it natural or a man-made stuff-up, as at Mareeba.
Issues tend to be more closely understood and appreciated when it is your life, or that of your family, that is at risk. The bastards get too bloody comfortable when they never wander far from their city offices in the south-east of Queensland. It is time for them to get a fresh perspective.
Thank you for this information – I have never been sure if Salties would adapt to fresh water.
Good day Owen, the crocs in question are all salties. There is a crocodile farm 3 klm west of Mareeba and during the last savage cyclone 11 years ago a part of the croc farm boundary fence was undermined by floodwater. Hence several smaller crocs escaped to live in the local waterways. Furthermore this is much anecdotal evidence suggesting a number of salties have been released in the district over the years after having been caught by hunters and fishermen on the Peninsula. We have not seen any freshies in this district. Thanks, Editor
What type of Crocs are these in the Mareeba Area – from my knowledge, I would think they are Freshies (Johnson River Variety) and generally only attack if trapped or interferred with. Unless they are Salties that have been introduced to the area. When I was young, in 1949, I was part of the IWSC Survey Team who surveyed the Irrigation Channel System from, at that time, the proposed Nullinga Dam Site and later to be connected to the Tinaroo Dam System. Much of the Channel Area is now under Sugar Cane and I could well imagine that the Channels would suit the Freshies quite well..