A mass cull of mega-sized crocodiles has been launched Down Under after their numbers surged to 100,000.
Experts say there are so many across the Northern Territory in Australia that "every 50 to 100 metres, we’ve got a crocodile pretty much over two metres in length." Sixty years ago, the population was just 3,000 after they were being hunted for their skins by people like Paul Hogan’s Crocodile Dundee film character.
But numbers have risen due to a hunting ban – and they have started attacking residents and tourists. The latest fatal attack happened a week ago in the Torres Strait.
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A 14ft male killed a 16-year-old boy swimming to an island after his boat broke down. Northern Territory environment minister Kate Worden said the latest move to cull 1,200 crocs every year “was about public safety”.
It's part of a 10-year crocodile management plan. She added: “We want to be able to go to our national parks and know that there’s waterholes that we can safely swim in.
"So that's what we will be doing, increasing that live harvest, taking out the juveniles, taking out some older crocodiles as well, to make sure that those public spaces are really safe."
The new quota is a substantial increase from the previous figure of 300. And so, critics argue the beasts are “ecologically important” – with specialist Brandon Sideleau adding: “They’re very important to tourists.”
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