Nick Calacouras, Northern Territory News news.com.au 20 Mar 09
TOURISTS could soon be allowed to hunt crocodiles with the Northern Territory Government renewing a push to allow safaris to help cull the predators.
The government is expected to increase the crocodile cull in the rural area, following the death of 11-year-old Briony Anne Goodsell in Lambells Lagoon, reports the Northern Territory News.
Tourism Minister Chris Burns said he still supported calls for crocodile safari hunting. This has renewed calls for crocodile safaris to help with the cull.
"When I was Environment Minister, I was front and centre, lobbying Canberra to have very limited croc safaris," he said.
"I'm still a supporter of that."
The previous federal government knocked back several applications for the Territory to set up a croc safari.
Dr Burns suggested a new application could be made to the Rudd Government as part of the latest review of crocodile management.
Environment Minister Alison Anderson said the government remained in favour of croc safari hunting "particularly as an enterprise opportunity for traditional owners".
She promised to pursue the issue with Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett.
Mr Garrett's office said no proposal had been lodged for a crocodile safari. But spokesman Ben Pratt said the minister would consider an application under the legislation if one was lodged.
Ms Anderson said crocodile safaris would not solve the problem of increasing interactions between humans and crocodiles in the rural area.
"Management in these more densely populated areas requires a range of strategies, including monitoring, removal and community awareness."
She said those strategies would be set out in the updated Crocodile Management Plan, to be released soon.
The previous federal government stopped international hunters from shooting crocodiles in 2005 by banning export of trophies – skin and skulls.
However, the death of Briony Anne Goodsell's has prompted the NT Government to implement tighter controls of the crocodile population, recently estimated to be the highest in Australia at more than 80,000.
