Katter leads the hunt for shooting safari solution
FOR outspoken North Queensland MP Bob Katter, the answer to curbing a booming crocodile population is shooting safaris.
The kind of man versus beast adventure that would draw khaki-clad hunters from around the globe to the remote reaches of the Gulf of Carpentaria where the highest concentrations of prized Australian saltwater crocodiles are there for the trophy taking.
The Federal Member for Kennedy said the state’s tourism industry had much to gain from the plan he is taking to Canberra in coming weeks.
Mr Katter said, while it would be up to scientists to pinpoint the cause of the apparent increase – he believes that along with removing the human predator, the decline of the goanna, groper and barramundi had significantly impacted on hatchling survival rates – Queensland did not need a costly survey to prove there was a problem.
“They are everywhere ... the balance has been knocked right off and it’s going to get worse unless we bring it back into kilter,” Mr Katter said.
“Growing up, I think I swam in just about every river in North Queensland at one point or another,” he said.
“I would not swim in them now.”
A “rough draft” of Mr Katter’s plan would result in indigenous guides and rangers leading a program similar to the pig hunting tours currently being trialled in Normanton that double as a pest control measure.
He hopes to sit down with Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion this week to “work out a serious proposal” to table in Parliament.
The plan will need a more welcoming reception in Canberra than it has received in Brisbane. It has been described as “ridiculous” by Environment Minister Steven Miles.