A North Queensland man says he felt he was left with no choice but to shoot his two beloved pet saltwater crocodiles after being denied a renewal permit to continue keeping the animals.
WARNING: This article contains graphic images.
Last week Adrian Hogg from Innisfail shot the animals after being told by the Department of Environment and Science (DES) that he had to find a new home for them within 20 days.
After the deadline, Mr Hogg may have faced fines for keeping the animals, which have been listed as vulnerable.
To prove the crocodiles had been shot, Mr Hogg delivered the carcasses to government offices in Innisfail.
Mr Hogg bought the crocodiles in 2018 and was allowed to keep the animals legally until the Queensland government changed legislation in 2020.
"When the government changed the rules, they forced anyone with a pet crocodile to get rid of them," Mr Hogg said.
"Zoos and farms are full of crocodiles from the wild, so when they say get rid of your crocodile, what they really mean is euthanasia.
Permit denied after legislation change
A DES spokesperson said after Mr Hogg's original permit to keep the animals expired in November, he applied for a new permit.
"Prior to refusing the application, the department informed Mr Hogg by telephone and in a follow-up letter, of the new restriction on the keeping of crocodiles in Queensland and offered him an opportunity to withdraw his permit application and receive a refund of his application fee," they said.
"Mr Hogg declined that offer and on January 10, the DES decision-maker decided to refuse the application.
"Mr Hogg applied for an internal review of the original decision to refuse his permit application. Following that review, the decision to refuse Mr Hogg's permit application was upheld.
DES said under current legislation, it was illegal to keep crocodiles as pets because they were considered dangerous and a public safety risk when kept in captivity.
'My kids have cried for days'
Mr Hogg disputed his crocodiles were a public safety risk.
"I live on 110 acres about 80 kilometres south of Cairns and my neighbours are over a kilometre away," he said.
"For my original permit, the department made me build an enclosure that was equal to farm and zoos which cost me about $30,000.
"There's a crocodile farm down the road with about 10,000 crocodiles, the idea that my two crocodiles were some sort of safety risk is just garbage."
Mr Hogg said he shot the crocodiles because he felt he had no other options.
"They were going to fine me for not having a valid permit even though they were the ones who said they could no longer give me a permit," he said.
"I shot them because it was instant.
"My kids have cried for days; they are so upset and so am I."
Mr Hogg said he felt he had no other options as time was running out and nobody wanted the 1.2-metre crocodiles.
"I rang zoos from Mackay to Port Douglas, they did not want them as they are full of crocodiles.
"The crocodile farms would have taken them and skinned them, that's after you have moved them and stressed them."
Probe into crocs' deaths begins
After taking the carcasses to the government offices, Mr Hogg said DES officers scanned the dead animals for microchips and then took them away.
"It was a requirement that I prove that they were dead and that they were going to scan them for microchips."
A DES spokesperson disputed Mr Hogg's claims.
"The DES did not direct Mr Hogg to shoot the two crocodiles that had been in his care, and wildlife officers are now investigating the circumstances associated with those deaths," they said.
"The department provided a number of options to Mr Hogg to support the animals to be rehomed by transferring them to either a Queensland commercial wildlife farm or zoo, or an appropriately licensed person interstate."
DES also offered the alternative option of arranging for a veterinary surgeon to humanely euthanase the crocodiles.
"On June 14, Mr Hogg presented the two dead crocodiles at the DES office in Innisfail, both of which appeared to have been shot and killed."
A DES spokesperson said the department was investigating the nature of the crocodiles' deaths to determine if any breaches of nature conservation legislation have been committed.
