In the NT, pet crocodiles have become an election issue
August 21, 2024 6:03 PM Subscribe
In the Northern Territory, owning a pet crocodile has become an election issue.
The NT government will no longer grant new permits to own a pet crocodile, leaving some feeling devastated and the NT opposition saying it would review the new rules.
Personally, I don't think anyone should be keeping large salt-water crocodiles - which can grow up to a weight of 1000 kilograms to 1500 kg (2200–3300 lb) and a length of 6 metres (20 ft) and can and do kill humans - outside of a licensed zoo, licenced wildlife rehabilitation facility, or commercial crocodile farm.
I am amused that one party is the "Letting People Get Their Faces Eaten By Their Pet Saltwater Crocodile Party" and the other party is the "NOT Letting People Get Their Faces Eaten By Their Pet Saltwater Crocodile Party".
Personally, I don't think anyone should be keeping large salt-water crocodiles - which can grow up to a weight of 1000 kilograms to 1500 kg (2200–3300 lb) and a length of 6 metres (20 ft) and can and do kill humans - outside of a licensed zoo, licenced wildlife rehabilitation facility, or commercial crocodile farm.
I am amused that one party is the "Letting People Get Their Faces Eaten By Their Pet Saltwater Crocodile Party" and the other party is the "NOT Letting People Get Their Faces Eaten By Their Pet Saltwater Crocodile Party".
I realise this is a NT controversy but I still secretly hoped for a Bob Katter quote.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 6:44 PM on August 21, 2024 [5 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 6:44 PM on August 21, 2024 [5 favorites]
I immediately Ctrl-Fed the article for 'Katter'
posted by Trivia Newton John at 8:51 PM on August 21, 2024
posted by Trivia Newton John at 8:51 PM on August 21, 2024
i had no idea the northern territory was basically the same as rural central and southwest florida, presumably with fewer guns
posted by dis_integration at 9:10 PM on August 21, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by dis_integration at 9:10 PM on August 21, 2024 [1 favorite]
i had no idea the northern territory was basically the same as rural central and southwest florida, presumably with fewer guns
Way fewer guns is correct. Australia doesn't do the gun culture thing, despite a few reprobates endlessly trying to import it. Australians have made it pretty clear over the decades that we don't want that crap here.
Beyond that, the NT is a lot more complicated than a simple comparison with Florida, politically and culturally. Or anywhere else that I know of.
For a start, it has elected a centre-left (by Oz standards) government for 20 of the last 24 years, and the northern coastal region at least (the 'Top End'), especially the capital, Darwin, is one of the more successful multicultural stories of the world. It is also not a retirement destination. If anything it is the opposite. Retirees usually depart to more southern and less climatically challenging parts of the country.
posted by Pouteria at 10:22 PM on August 21, 2024 [2 favorites]
Way fewer guns is correct. Australia doesn't do the gun culture thing, despite a few reprobates endlessly trying to import it. Australians have made it pretty clear over the decades that we don't want that crap here.
Beyond that, the NT is a lot more complicated than a simple comparison with Florida, politically and culturally. Or anywhere else that I know of.
For a start, it has elected a centre-left (by Oz standards) government for 20 of the last 24 years, and the northern coastal region at least (the 'Top End'), especially the capital, Darwin, is one of the more successful multicultural stories of the world. It is also not a retirement destination. If anything it is the opposite. Retirees usually depart to more southern and less climatically challenging parts of the country.
posted by Pouteria at 10:22 PM on August 21, 2024 [2 favorites]
My friend married a woman from NT and she really wanted to return (they lived in NSW). A serious test for him was, could he bear being naked in winter in Darwin, because if it was too hot for him then he probably wasn't going to be able to make through the rest of the year. He passed, just.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:47 PM on August 21, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:47 PM on August 21, 2024 [2 favorites]
If you’re interested in the safety of large predators, maybe you should work to protect their habitat rather than keep them in your backyard. They’ll be happier, and you’ll be slightly less likely to die.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:25 AM on August 22, 2024 [6 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:25 AM on August 22, 2024 [6 favorites]
I feel like I'm missing something about this story.
This linked article from 2019 says that there are a little over 100 crocodile permit holders in the NT, out of a population of 250k or so.
Which, yeah, I understand that it's important to these people to be able to keep crocodiles, but why are the concerns of a fraction of one percent of the population the kind of thing that political parties fight over?
posted by box at 9:05 AM on August 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
This linked article from 2019 says that there are a little over 100 crocodile permit holders in the NT, out of a population of 250k or so.
Which, yeah, I understand that it's important to these people to be able to keep crocodiles, but why are the concerns of a fraction of one percent of the population the kind of thing that political parties fight over?
posted by box at 9:05 AM on August 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
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posted by Joakim Ziegler at 6:08 PM on August 21, 2024 [5 favorites]