People who feed and interact with crocodiles face harsher penalties as Queensland authorities crack down on risk-taking behaviour.
Knowingly staying near a crocodile which is on or partly on land can now cost $806 on the spot while interfering with crocodile traps attracts a $2580 fine on the spot, or up to $26,615 in court.
Discarding food including fish frames, scraps and bait in public places like a boat ramp, jetty or campground can result in an on-the-spot fine of $483 under penalties introduced by the state government.
The maximum court-imposed fine is $6452.
Existing fines have also increased, including for deliberately disturbing or feeding a crocodile, costing $2580 on the spot or up to $26,615 as a court penalty.
Conservation officers have the power to move people away from crocodiles under the changes.
“People may think feeding crocs or interacting with them is fun or harmless, but experience shows that doing so increases the risk to public safety," Environment Minister Leanne Linard said in a statement on Tuesday.
A spate of fatal attacks sparked the new penalties, with the most recent being the death of a NSW doctor who was camping with his family when he was killed north of Cairns.
Claims and social media videos have emerged indicating the crocodile that took David Hogbin's life had been fed by locals and tourists for years.
Conservationists have welcomed the government's harsher penalties to deter and punish people for taking risky behaviours in crocodile habitats.
“Feeding causes the crocodiles to habituate in areas of high human visitation, increasing the risks of dangerous human-crocodile interactions," Environmental Defenders Office managing lawyer Kirstiana Ward said.
“These laws will protect people, communities and crocodiles."
It is not just protecting people from the dangers of crocodiles that conservationists are celebrating but also safeguarding the threatened species.
“We can’t change a crocodile’s behaviour, but we can focus on people taking personal responsibility in croc country," Community Representation of Crocodiles spokesperson Amanda French said.
Celebrity animal handler Bob Irwin criticised the years it has taken for laws to protect crocodiles but welcomed that they have finally been implemented.
“I think it’s the best news since sliced bread, to see the focus placed on human behaviour in crocodile habitat," he said.
