Online content creators who engage in \u201creckless stunts\u201d with crocodiles should have so-called \u201cdickhead legislation\u201d thrown at them, and international influencers that do so in Australia should be \u201cbooted out the door\u201d, Bob Irwin says.<\/p>\n
The father of the late \u201cCrocodile Hunter\u201d, Steve Irwin, and lifelong crocodile advocate issued the rare statement after Queensland<\/a> authorities confirmed they were investigating US influencer Mike Holston \u2013 who goes by the online moniker \u201cThe Real Tarzann\u201d \u2013 for wrestling with wild crocodiles.<\/p>\n Irwin said he and colleagues gave the colourful nickname to the legislation \u2013 brought in to Queensland last year in an effort to crack down on dangerous crocodile interactions \u2013 after becoming increasingly concerned by \u201ca runaway train\u201d of online content \u201cencouraging and glorifying harmful wildlife interactions\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s because that\u2019s exactly what content creators like the Real Tarzann are in my books \u2013 dickheads,\u201d Irwin said. \u201cBecause anyone who harms wildlife for fun, is.\u201d<\/p>\n Environmental legal advocates backed Irwin\u2019s criticism, saying wildlife protection laws needed widespread reform for the digital age and that influencers who post videos of themselves handling native animals should face aggravated offences to combat the \u201cSteve Irwin factor gone wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n Animal rights organisations also said Holston should be deported for two posts in which he jumps on top of and restrains a freshwater and a juvenile saltwater crocodile.<\/p>\n The Queensland environment department issued a statement on Tuesday which said it was \u201cactively investigating two videos circulating on social media\u201d, which Holston has indicated were shot in Cape York.<\/p>\n The statement said the maximum penalty for interfering with a saltwater crocodile is $37,500, with an on-the-spot fine of $8,345.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThese actions are extremely dangerous and illegal, and we are actively exploring strong compliance action including fines to deter any person from this type of behaviour,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n But Irwin said it was past time regulators enforced stricter laws against feeding and interfering with crocodiles Queensland enacted last September and \u201cthrow the book at these people\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe repeated line from our regulators [of] \u2018we are investigating\u2019 in response to these incidents is wearing thin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe message is only going to sink in when we see these so-called influencers held to account and understand that 15 million followers don\u2019t make you exempt from the laws that protect our wildlife.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing to understand that not one person has been prosecuted in Queensland since the new legislation was introduced.\u201d<\/p>\n Crocodile advocate, Amanda French, pointed out that just weeks after Queensland\u2019s new laws came into force, a Western Australian influencer filmed herself throwing a cooked chicken to a four-metre saltwater crocodile called Clyde. In July a Canadian influencer filmed himself wrangling a freshwater crocodile. The department said it could not pursue the first case for lack of evidence and was investigating the second.<\/p>\n \u201cFreshies\u201d, as they are known in north Queensland, are smaller and generally less aggressive and dangerous than their \u201csaltie\u201d cousins, which are the largest reptiles and one of the most dangerous creatures on Earth. Handling both species in the wild is illegal without proper authorisation and permits due to their protected status and the high risk of injury to both the animal and the handler.<\/p>\n French said a roughly $8,000-on-the-spot fine was an increase on previous reported statements and would hurt \u201ca guy fishing in the wrong spot\u201d but said it might not be enough to deter popular influencers.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a walk in the park for someone like that who is prepared to fly out to Australia, get as much content travelling around as he can and put it out on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n French began working at Australia Zoo to organise its Steve Irwin Day after the death of the beloved croc wrangler in 2006 and went on to co-found the Community Representation of Crocodiles<\/a> group. She wrote a book \u2013 The Last Crocodile Hunter \u2013 with Bob Irwin, with whom she remains \u201creally close\u201d.<\/p>\n French said she and Irwin feared they were witnessing the Crocodile Hunter\u2019s legacy gone awry.<\/p>\n \u201c[Steve Irwin] was the original influencer, there\u2019s no doubt about that,\u201d she said. \u201cBut there was no social media back then, there was no ability for people to go, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m going to go and do that, and monetise my account, and get that dramatic footage and I\u2019ll be rewarded\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Holston has spoken about being inspired by Irwin, and French said social media feeds were thick with would-be influencers handling wildlife in what many claim are \u201ceducational\u201d videos.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cThat is not education,\u201d French said. \u201cIt is glorifying illegal, harmful activity to our wildlife. \u201cAnd the difference is: Steve Irwin had a permit.\u201d<\/p>\n Such permits, she said, were hard to get and came with strict oversight.<\/p>\n French said wildlife protection laws must \u201cget with the times\u201d to deter this unintended \u201ccopycat effect\u201d.<\/p>\n Among those long championing reform is Kirstiana Ward, who leads the early legal intervention team at the Environmental Defenders Office in Cairns.<\/p>\n Ward began advocating for strengthened laws to crack down on social media videos of wildlife interactions in earnest in early 2023 when a man was filmed stripping down to his budgie smugglers and entering a river known and signed as crocodile habitat in north Queensland with his rottweiler for a swim. The dog was attacked and killed within seconds by a 4.2-metre croc, which authorities later shot dead.<\/p>\n She had sought for last year\u2019s crocodile interaction reforms to include \u201cpost and boast\u201d laws.<\/p>\n Ward said she was conducting a review on wildlife protection laws across all jurisdictions in Australia. \u201cWe\u2019re just seeing these laws being flouted across the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n