Trophy plans ... saltwater crocodile.


Trophy hunters will be allowed to pay to shoot saltwater crocodiles under a plan to control numbers of the dangerous reptiles in the Northern Territory.

A number of attacks in recent years have put the contentious issue back on the agenda.

Also Aborigine groups say that hunting would create a new industry and employment for their people.

Under the plan, safari hunters would be allowed to kill up to 25 large saltwater crocs - all larger than 3.5 metres.


While the NT Government wants organised hunts and increasing the number of eggs taken from the wild, it has ruled out a cull.

For years governments and animal groups have dismissed killing crocodiles as inhumane and unnecessary.

For example, the late wildlife warrior Steve Irwin believed that hunting crocodiles for trophies would send out the wrong message.

However, the WWF says that, while it does not see trophy hunting as a solution to combat recent crocodile attacks, it is not opposed to the practice as long as any money that is produced out of the exercise goes back into conservation and to indigenous groups.

Federal Government approval is needed for the trophy plan.

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