{"id":171606,"date":"2025-09-27T00:49:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T00:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/171606\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T00:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T00:49:13","slug":"crocodile-industry-stakeholders-urge-australian-government-to-reform-outdated-code-of-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/171606\/","title":{"rendered":"Crocodile industry stakeholders urge Australian government to reform outdated code of practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thrust back into the international spotlight by the recent trial of Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright<\/a>, questions are being raised about the Top End’s lucrative crocodile industry and its outdated code of practice.<\/p>\n

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of family.<\/p>\n

The current code<\/a>, which outlines the “achievable minimum standard of humane conduct in regard to the treatment of wild and farmed crocodiles”, was released by the federal government in 2009.<\/p>\n

It was due to be updated five to 10 years after, but no steps were taken until a review of the industry was launched in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the time the government said a new code was expected to be finalised in late 2024 \u2014 15 years after the first \u2014 but a year on, it has still not confirmed when the new standards will be published.<\/p>\n

And stakeholders say they’ve already been waiting too long.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A 2024 consultation report found multiple inconsistencies between the current code and industry standards. (ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson)<\/p>\n

Concerns over current conditions<\/p>\n

A 2024 report from the review<\/a>, which highlighted small cages, restraints and husbandry practices as part of its scope, found multiple inconsistencies between the current code of practice and standards in the industry.<\/p>\n

In one example, the current code lists harpooning as the preferred method of capture, but last year’s report found “most submissions suggested a total ban on harpooning as it causes ‘unnecessary pain’ for the animal”.<\/p>\n

According to the NT government, the territory’s crocodile industry generated $151 million<\/a> in economic activity in 2025.<\/p>\n

Herm\u00e8s-owned NT croc farm irrigating crops with water high in E. coli<\/a><\/p>\n

One of Australia’s largest crocodile farms is consistently irrigating with water containing E. coli concentrations almost 500 times the national guidelines.<\/p>\n

Lucrative crocodile farms, which supply high-end fashion labels such as Herm\u00e8s and Gucci with croc skin, boast aims of farming up to 50,000 crocodiles for their skin, meat and eggs at one time.<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2021, an organisation called Defend the Wild exposed shocking and inhumane conditions at crocodile farms in the Northern Territory, including several owned by Herm\u00e8s.<\/p>\n

Defend the Wild founding director Alix Livingstone said since then, the organisation had continued to receive reports from people who had left the industry expressing concerns about the conditions.<\/p>\n

“We frequently have people who have worked in crocodile farms who contact us with concerns around the welfare of animals on the farms,” she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Livingstone said the organisation was concerned the new code would be a “rubber-stamping exercise” that failed to balance industry interests against the rights of animals.<\/p>\n

The Animal Justice Party Australia’s Georgie Purcell said widely, the crocodile farming industry needed to change.<\/p>\n

\"Georgie<\/p>\n

Georgie Purcell says people need to have more compassion and respect for crocodiles. (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)<\/p>\n

She said crocodile farming had no place in Australia, but the code of practice must, at least, respect animals’ freedom.<\/p>\n

“Crocodiles can be confined to cages smaller than their own bodies, that is completely legal,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I think for some people it is quite hard to build that empathy and compassion for crocodiles, but these are sentient animals, they are wildlife.”<\/p>\n

Need for cultural knowledge<\/p>\n

For ranger and tourism business owner Jida Gulpilil, the son of the late actor David Gulpilil, being a stakeholder in the crocodile industry is a way to honour his father’s vision for his homelands across the Gurruwiling wetlands and create a sustainable business model for his community.<\/p>\n

\"Jida<\/p>\n

Jida Gulpilil says becoming a stakeholder in the crocodile industry is a way to honour his late father’s vision. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

He said the industry code of practice needed to be updated in line with traditional Indigenous knowledge.<\/p>\n

“We are the original crocodile hunters,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We keep being left out of the discussions, and the papers, and the reports, the consultations \u2014 it can be a bit frustrating, we have our own plans.<\/p>\n

“We certainly need more of the Commonwealth to be on board, we need them to come out, write down our knowledge, our cultural knowledge, our scientific knowledge.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jida Gulpilil says First Nations Australians are the “original crocodile hunters” and must be consulted. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

Mr Gulpilil said crocodile management and farming presented an opportunity for Indigenous communities to create environmentally and economically sustainable businesses.<\/p>\n

“It’s something we need to set ourselves up to manage and have a stronger stake hold in the industry, because we have the knowledge,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We are the landowners for where those eggs come from, we should be supported more; without us [and] our land, our natural cultural resources, you wouldn’t have an industry.”<\/p>\n

In a statement, a spokesperson from the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said it had engaged with First Nations people as part of the review process.<\/p>\n

“Over the last year, the department has been working with relevant state and territory agencies on progressing the proposed new code,” they said.<\/p>\n

“First Nations groups and representatives, along with various stakeholder groups, were consulted on the review.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thrust back into the international spotlight by the recent trial of Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright, questions are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,111954,11630,111955,111953,111956,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-171606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-code-of-practice","11":"tag-crocodile","12":"tag-crocodile-farming","13":"tag-crocodile-industry","14":"tag-jida-gulpil","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}