Baby crocodile seized from fish tank after alleged poaching from wild in Australia

RNZ News

20-05-2025

The crocodile must now live its life in a zoo.
Photo:
A baby saltwater crocodile seized from a fish tank in a far north Queensland home was intended to be kept as a pet, state authorities say.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife senior conservation officer Daniel Guymer said a man in his mid-20s allegedly found the hatchling late last year in a river at Mossman, about 75 kilometres north of Cairns, and took it home.
"He believed it was struggling to swim with an injury," Guymer said.
"His heart was probably in the right place."
The croc is estimated to be less than a year old.
The crocodile in a tank in the Manoora unit where it was found.
Photo:
ABC/DETSI
Guymer said he understood that the Cairns man had intended to keep the crocodile in a fish tank as a pet in the inner-city unit he shared with others.
"Even though it was small at the time, crocodiles do get bigger," he said.
"That crocodile would have quickly outgrown its enclosure."
Police were tipped off about the crocodile - which was in an enclosure half a metre wide by one metre long - and rangers confiscated the animal on 16 May.
The man was given 28 days to pay a $2419 fine.
Guymer said the man was remorseful once the legislation was explained.
He said the crocodile had been surviving on supermarket meats and "the odd lizard".
The 35-centimetre crocodile has been moved to a far north Queensland zoo as its months-long captivity would have posed too many potential health risks to the local croc population if released.
Keeping crocodiles as domestic pets is largely prohibited across the country, except in Victoria and the Northern Territory where they can be kept under strict conditions.
Queensland prohibits the practice but Charlene, a 62-year-old croc that's been with the Casey family her entire life, is one of the exceptions.
Proserpine sugar cane grower John Casey, 63, has a grandfathered permit that will last Charlene's life.
The 3-metre-long croc famously bit the hand that fed her when she chomped off Mr Casey's late father's hand during feeding.
"Authorities know Charlene's in a safe place and she's healthy and I'm doing the right thing by her," he said.
"She knows me, and I know her moods."
Charlene was left to Casey in his father's will, and she is also specified in his own will for his wife and children to inherit.
Casey said to protect the reptile's welfare and reduce the risk of poaching he supported the legislation disallowing crocodiles as pets.
"As they get bigger they get more dangerous," he said.
He said Charlene has plenty of light, shade and room in her large enclosure.
He stays safe by refusing to enter the enclosure and stays away during egg-laying.
"She has her instincts," he said.
"My fingers are on one side of the fence and she's on the other."
-ABC