Improved Crocodile Management for Queensland

A new plan to manage crocodiles in populated areas and improve public safety will begin in Queensland next week.

Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, Andrew McNamara, said the new Queensland Crocodile Management Plan provides a clear direction on the removal of crocodiles from urban areas.

“The Environmental Protection Agency has public safety as its number one priority in managing crocodiles,” Mr McNamara said.

“However, crocodiles are an important part of Queensland’s ecosystem, contributing to the health of Queensland’s environment as well as its economy.

“We need to actively conserve our estuarine crocodiles to ensure their long-term survival.”

Mr McNamara said the aim of the new management plan is to:
• protect humans from crocodile attack;
• conserve viable populations of estuarine crocodiles in the wild;
• prevent stock and aquaculture loss from problem crocodile attacks; and
• ensure the commercial use of estuarine crocodiles is ecologically sustainable.

“This plan adopts a common sense approach to crocodile management,” he said.

“An important addition to previous guidelines is that crocodiles over 2 metres in length - and not simply moving through or in a well known crocodile habitat - will be removed automatically from urban areas.

“However, crocodiles of lesser length will also be removed if determined to be a ‘problem crocodile’.”

Mr McNamara said the classification of a ‘problem crocodile’ will be determined by its behaviour, location and the human use of the area in which it’s found.

Media contact: Peter McCarthy 3336 8004