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Bob Irwin, father of the late “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, has condemned online influencers who recklessly interact with wild crocodiles for fame.
His comments come amidst a controversy involving US influencer Mike Holston, aka “The Real Tarzann”, who posted videos of himself wrestling crocodiles in Australia, prompting an official investigation and calls for his deportation.
Mr Irwin said influencers indulging in “reckless stunts” with crocodiles in Australia should be “booted out the door”, according to The Guardian.
He also supported the idea that the legislation introduced by Queensland authorities last year – that mandates tough measures against feeding and interacting with crocodiles to protect both communities and wildlife – should be thrown at such influencers.
He nicknamed the legislation “d***head legislation”, “because anyone who harms wildlife for fun, is (a d***head).”
“And that’s because that’s exactly what content creators like the Real Tarzann are in my books – d***heads,” the paper quoted Mr Irwin as saying.
Last year, he said he was concerned by “a runaway train” of content creators or influencers “encouraging and glorifying harmful wildlife interactions”.
Mr Irwin, who is also a crocodile conservationist, said at the time: “After all these years, finally, there’s laws for protecting crocodiles from reckless behaviour.
“It’s taken a long time for people to understand that crocodiles are important to the environment.
“I think it’s the best news since sliced bread, to see the focus placed on human behaviour in crocodile habitat.”
Environmental advocates and animal rights groups have supported stricter wildlife protection laws, arguing that influencers who handle native animals online should face harsher penalties.
The Queensland environment department said on Tuesday that they were actively investigating two videos shared on social media by Mr Holston, which showed him restraining crocodiles.
One video had more than 32 million views on Instagram. Over 15 million people follow him on the platform.
In one of the clips, he can be heard saying: “Ever since I was a kid I wanted to come to Australia and just look at crocodiles.”
“These 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,” a statement by the Queensland authorities said.
After the videos by Mr Holston were shared widely, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) demanded that he face full legal penalties, be deported, and be barred from reentering Australia.
“Aside from it being illegal and unfathomably stupid to interfere with a crocodile in Queensland, it’s also incredibly cruel,” PETA advisor Mimi Bekhechi said, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Just like wombats, koalas and other native Australian wildlife, crocodiles are sensitive individuals who experience pain and stress, and who deserve to live in peace without fear that visiting influencers will tackle and roughly handle them.”
Meanwhile, Queensland premier David Crisafulli labelled the influencer a “goose”, saying that while the state environment department would investigate the incident, immigration issues fall under the federal government’s jurisdiction.
“If you think that is a sustainable business model to go wrestling with saltwater crocodiles, I think it’s probably not going to end the way that he thinks it’s going to,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“Anyone stupid enough to do that shouldn’t be lauded and shouldn’t be praised – they should be called out for being an idiot.”
But Mr Irwin demanded stricter action. “The repeated line from our regulators [of] ‘we are investigating’ in response to these incidents is wearing thin.
“The message is only going to sink in when we see these so-called influencers held to account and understand that 15 million followers don’t make you exempt from the laws that protect our wildlife.
“It’s disappointing to understand that not one person has been prosecuted in Queensland since the new legislation was introduced.”
According to 7News, he frequently shares videos featuring dangerous wildlife, such as king cobras and king brown snakes. His Instagram is full of his pictures with wild animals.
His recent videos with the crocodiles, however, sparked furious reactions online. “This is horrible. That crocodile is so stressed. The behaviour is illegal, and the crocodiles are a protected species,” one person wrote.
“Can’t they die from stress? This feels like cruelty. You could have just zoomed in and explained the same thing,” another wrote.
The Independent has reached out to Mr Holston for comment.