Relocated Oz croc menaces tourist beaches
Find this reptile, and make it snappy
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Oz's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a bit of stick for relocating a 3.5-metre crocodile to a north Queensland creek from where it has menaced nearby tourist beaches, the Australian reports.
The EPA trapped the beast earlier this year 1000km south of its current home, close to the Cape York community of Bamaga. The agency rather brilliantly decided to tag and dump it near Townsville at Cape Cleveland as part of the "Crocs in Space" tracking programme. The plan was to see if it would establish a new home range.
It did, and soon began to hang around Magnetic Island, just off Townsville. Cue closure of beaches and incensed tourism operators rattling legal sabres in search of compensation.
Townsville-based marine scientist Walter Starck slammed the EPA's "criminal stupidity", and thundered: "If a private citizen were to do something like that, my God, they'd be subject to horrendous fines and penalties. There's absolutely no scientific justification for it - we have hundreds of thousands of large crocodiles all across the top of Australia living in places where there are no people,"
Labor Member for Townsville Mike Reynolds described himself as "absolutely flabbergasted" at the release. He demanded that sustainability minister Andrew McNamara "ensure no crocodile was released so close to Townsville residents in the future".
The matter finally arrived at the State Parliament in Cairns, where opposition leader Lawrence Springborg yesterday probed tourism minister Desley Boyle over what he described as a "hare-brained scientific experiment". Boyle defended that the EPA had "a long-standing practice of removing crocodiles from urban areas and was sure that it would continue".
She insisted crocs were a "drawcard for tourists".
The EPA, meanwhile, yesterday hoped to recapture the rogue reptile following a scheduled satellite fix on the wandering tourist drawcard. ®
COMMENTS
Power Puff Girls might have got him, at least the plastic shopping bags did ;)
Last night, it was on the news. I think it was dead, ate something like 6 or 12 plastic shopping bags, an inflatable float, and something else, or two.
You guys are a bit slow ion the funny news aren't you. Parliament finished last Thursday and they have gone back to the capital.
> By Peyton Posted Friday 31st October 2008 13:35 GMT
> Surely someone can just call the Powerpuff Girls in to deal with it...
> (http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ppg/ if that reference doesn't translate across the pond)
The irony does not escape people from the rival city Cairns. I was once thinking of going to Townsville, and that great big, Welcome to Townsville, "the capital of North Queensland" sign, and put a great big "The Home of the Power Puff Girls" sign underneath it. I had this nice great big Power Puff Girl poster picture frame too that I picked up cheap at the $2 shop to potentially go with it. Don't suppose I can do it now, too old, and the police would be able to trace me through this post :(.
Wayne.
Never mind the crocs, here's my...
"Cape York is 1000km south of Townsville"..?!#!? Eh?
For crying out loud mate, y'er holding yer bloody map of Oz upside down again! Remember, the map of Tassie belongs at the bottom! (or more commonly, just in front of the bottom, depending on your particular projection... ;).
Mwahahaha
Gotta love the EPA... Deal with them on occasion and well this speaks for its self
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