Senator calls for crocodile culling program in Australia

Australian Senator Bob Katter, of the Katter's Australia Party, is launching a week long tour of North Queensland State on Tuesday, to drum up support for a crocodile culling program.

The Party want to introduce legislation that would see crocodile safari hunting legalised, along with an incentive scheme that would encourage the removal of crocodile eggs.

"Reports show seven beaches have been closed due to croc sightings in the past three months," Queensland Member of Parliament, Shane Knuth said in a statement.

Last month, a 35 year-old spearfisherman was taken by a four-meter crocodile in the township of Innisfail, with another man, 47, killed in the Northern Territory at a river crossing in January.

In 2016, there were 127 confirmed crocodile sightings in the state of Queensland, with another 378 reports that were unconfirmed.

Many believe the problem is drastically getting worse in the north, as the previous year only saw 87 sightings. In 2011, the figure was just 56.

But not everyone in the region agrees with the idea of culling crocodiles.

When asked about Katter's proposed idea in January, Australia Zoo's head reptile keeper, Daniel Rumsey told Xinhua "I don't agree with that at all."

"They're Australia's apex predator and a keystone species that are so important to our environment, culling them doesn't solve anything."

Adding that, removing larger crocodiles from an area can often make the remaining reptiles more aggressive and more likely to attack humans. Endit