A proposal to remove more crocodiles from Queensland waterways could lull people into a false sense of security, a crocodile expert has warned.
An independent review led by former Queensland's chief scientist Professor Hugh Possingham recommended a trial to remove a "modest number" of crocs 2.4 metres or longer from along the populated east coast.
It was among 22 recommendations in a report handed down in July by the Crocodile Management Independent Expert Evaluation Committee.
University of Queensland Professor Craig Franklin, who has been studying crocodiles for more than three decades, said it would not make waterways safer.
"My sense is it's going to lead people to have a false sense of security and complacency, thinking, 'Gee, the Queensland government got rid of all the large animals. It's OK to go swimming in this waterhole'," he said.
"That's not a good idea."
His warning coincided with a petition that has gained nearly 15,000 signatures and opposed what Professor Franklin called the "continuous culling of saltwater crocodiles along Australia's east coast".
Encounters will increase
The expert panel's report noted that culling crocs down to 1970s-1980s levels would be "unacceptable to much of the community … and also to the tourism industry, which profits from tourists being able to observe crocodiles in the wild".
It estimated there were now about 20,000 to 30,000 crocodiles in Queensland.
"Numbers have increased a lot since we banned hunting. They were almost extinct in Queensland in the 1970s," Professor Possingham said.
"Now the population is growing about 1 per cent per year. At worst, the current population could double in the next 60–70 years."
Professor Possingham said, as more people moved north, encounters with the protected species would increase.
"If you have more crocodiles and more people, technically there are more points of contact," he said.
"We believe that where there are heavily populated areas and where there are large crocodiles, we think a little bit more proactive removal would be useful in minimising the risk to people."
There have been 46 estuarine crocodile attacks on humans in Queensland since 1975, of which 16 have been fatal.
Under its current management plan, the Department of Environment and Science (DES) removed about 40 tp 50 "problem" crocodiles annually.
The expert panel said removing an additional number would "constrain population growth" and "deliver improved crocodile management outcomes".
However, it admitted, "crocodile farms and zoos have become less willing, or have experienced reduced capacity, to accept captured problem crocodiles".
Crocodile farms are full
Rockhampton crocodile farmer John Lever said local farms did not have the capacity for more large adult males.
"They [DES] are going to have to euthanase them. As a protected animal, this goes against the grain of what these people are responsible for," he said.
"It would be a lot better if the industry euthanased them."
It is something Professor Possingham admitted was a possibility.
"Some of these crocodiles will be used as breeding stock on farms," he said.
"These crocs are too old and big to be turned into handbags, so under some circumstances these animals will need to be euthanased by departmental staff."
More research underway
The expert panel's recommendations have not yet been approved, but a DES spokesperson said the department would take a rigorous scientific approach before any decisions were made.
"DES is undertaking genomic [DNA] work and crocodile population modelling, which will be considered together to provide clear guidance on how the crocodile population would be likely to respond to the removal of additional larger crocodiles from different locations along the coast," the spokesperson said.
"DES would then use these findings to consult with First Nations peoples and key stakeholders before any changes to current management practices were considered."
Professor Franklin said public education was preferable to removing more crocodiles because the "government can't guarantee safety".
"The best option is to educate people to live alongside these animals and to say these are an amazing species that deserve our respect and our protection, instead of culling them," he said.
"We know that most of the breeding males are large animals.
"If you take the large adults out of a population, they won't reach a reproductive age where they can successfully breed and add to the population."
