David @ Tokyo

Reuters has an article about calls in Australia for crocodile culling. The article is apparently in response to a plan released by the local environment ministry.

"It's a classic example of lateral thinking," Queensland politician Bob Katter said on Thursday in ridiculing the plan.

"Instead of removing the crocs, they're going to remove human beings"

"I think that there should be a bounty paid on crocodiles for a period of time and in selected areas and I think that there should be proper armaments provided to people to be able to do that cull," Katter told local radio recently.

From the other side of the debate:

Queensland Environment Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr rejected fears that crocodile numbers had exploded.

"It's more likely that more people are visiting or moving into croc habitat, and so more people are noticing crocs," she said this week in releasing the conservation plan.

"Saltwater crocodiles are a vulnerable species with only about 30,000 believed to be left in the wild in Queensland."

"In developing this plan, the Environmental Protection Agency aimed to get the balance right between public safety, sustainable commercial use of saltwater crocodiles and protecting these ancient, vulnerable animals in the wild," she said.

The Minister uses the phrase "only about (number) believed to be left in the wild". Such talk can only serve to mislead where species that are perfectly capable of reproduction and increasing in number are concerned.

Crocodile expert Graeme Webb has a paper at the IUCN's sustainable use specialist group website on conservation through sustainable use.

Labels: sustainable use