Around 30 years ago, the government made it illegal to kill crocodiles. Now, there are about 60,000 crocodiles in the top end region. Some people think that's enough, and would like the government to let them start hunting again.


MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: The population of saltwater crocodiles in the Adelaide River, east of Darwin, is the most intensively studied in the Northern Territory.

Those studies show that the population has increased dramatically since crocodiles were protected more than 30 years ago.

CROCODILE TOUR GUIDE: Parks and Wildlife did a count on this river about four or five years ago and they generally consider the Adelaide River to have one crocodile for every 75 to 100m of riverbank.

DR GRAHAME WEBB: The crocodile population in the Northern Territory in 1971 was really on the brink of extinction. You couldn't see a crocodile anywhere.

Now, to the best of our knowledge, we've brought them back to their pristine abundance in every creek, swamp and river across the Northern Territory and they're totally secure.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: Commercial hunting of crocodiles in the Northern Territory from 1945 'til 1971 may have enhanced the prowess of the Top End hunter.

But it wreaked havoc on the base population of crocodiles.

It'd fallen to as few as 3,000 in 1971 when hunting was banned. The population then recovered remarkably.

By 1984, it expanded to as many as 40,000. It's plateaued since and today is estimated around 60,000.

CHRIS BURNS, NT PARKS & WILDLIFE MINISTER: There's been an exponential increase in crocodile numbers and I believe that the numbers that we're currently allowed are sustainable and we should be allowed to offer some - a limited number - to game hunters as a means to providing income for remote Aboriginal communities and some pastoral properties.

JOHN DALY, NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL: We're not looking at going in there and absolutely annihilating crocodiles.

Crocodiles are out there in large proportion and Aboriginal people traditionally have hunted crocodiles for thousands of years. They're pretty used to hunting crocodiles.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: The Northern Land Council called a press conference this afternoon at a Darwin crocodile farm to press a case to the Federal Government for safari hunters to be able to kill up to 25 saltwater crocodiles a year.

The proposal's backed by the Territory Government but needs federal approval in order to satisfy Commonwealth law.

The law already allows limited harvesting of wild crocodiles - up to 600 a year - basically for farm stock.

The 25 crocodiles for trophy hunters would come out of that existing harvest quota.

Grahame Webb, who owns the Darwin Crocodile Farm and has a lifetime of crocodile research behind him, is backing the hunting proposal.

DR GRAHAME WEBB: The crocodiles are going to die anyway. It's a question of whether the landowner maybe gets $100 or $200 or whether they maybe get $3,000 or $4,000, and that's what it's about.

For us, it's about how much money can you make crocodiles worth before they're an asset and people will look after 'em.

Otherwise they're just a pest.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: The Federal Government has called for submissions on the trophy-hunting proposal.

More than 500 submissions have been received and the Federal Environment Minister is unwilling to comment until he's reviewed them.

The powerful animal protection lobby group Humane Society International is among those who've urged the Federal Government to reject the proposal.

AVERIL BONES: There's no doubt that it will severely damage Australia's reputation as an ecologically sustainable and friendly tourist destination.

I think ecotourism ventures, and ventures which aim to exploit the wildlife in a non-fatal and non-invasive manner, have much greater potential for long-term benefits.