Sydney, Sep 3 (IANS): People in the Australian state of Queensland will face fines for unintentionally feeding, and knowingly remaining close to, crocodiles under new laws announced on Tuesday aimed at reducing attacks.
Leanne Linard, Queensland's minister for the environment, announced a government crackdown on feeding and interfering with crocodiles, Xinhua news agency reported.
Under new laws that are effective immediately, anyone who unintentionally feeds a crocodile by discarding food in a way that attracts them to a public place such as a boat ramp, jetty or campsite will be fined a maximum of $4,372.2.
Additionally, anyone who knowingly remains near a crocodile on land will be fined up to $10,930.5.
The existing fine for intentionally disturbing or feeding crocodiles in the state has been increased from a maximum of $4,372.2 to $17,729.3 and the maximum penalty for interfering with a crocodile trap has been raised from a fine of $13,115.5 to $17,729.3.
The state government has also given conservation officers the power to order people to move away from crocodiles to avoid any potential human-crocodile interactions.
Linard said the reforms would help keep people safe in areas inhabited by crocodiles.
"People may think feeding Crocs or interacting with them is fun or harmless, but experience shows that doing so increases the risk to public safety," she said in a statement.
There have been three fatal crocodile attacks on humans in Australia in 2024, all in the country's north.
David Hogbin, a 40-year-old doctor, was dragged into a river by a crocodile while walking with his wife near the far north Queensland town of Cooktown in August. His remains were found inside a 4.9-metre male saltwater crocodile that was euthanised by authorities days later.
In the Northern Territory (NT), which shares a border with Queensland, a 16-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl were killed by crocodiles in separate incidents in April and July.
A three-year monitoring programme that ended in 2019 estimated that there were between 20,000 and 30,000 crocodiles in Queensland, with most found in the state's far north.
Bob Katter, a federal Senator representing Queensland, has repeatedly called for crocodile populations in the state to be culled to prevent attacks.