Just wondering. Are their numbers down, or are they an otherwise vulnerable species? We protected alligators in the U.S. for decades and now they are expanding hunting quotas as the buggers rapidly multiply -- more than 1 million in Florida alone, I believe, and far less dangerous than your crocs.

Steve Irwin liked them. That's enuff for our gumbiment.

To answer the question seriously, no native animals can be sport/trophy hunted here in OZ. It's alright for millions to starve, run hit by cars and trucks, be slaughtered by professionals for meat and skins or just to thin out the numbers, but for a handful to be taken by someone for "fun" would never be allowed.

OZ is a funny place, if you take pleasure in your hunting and try to do it well, then you are considered a "weirdo". If it's your job and you just go through the motions, then that's OK.
A prime example of this is the stupid law that existed to only recently (NSW, I believe) that made it illegal for you to attend a range with your hunting rifle to check the zero.

WOW! I'm very sorry fellas.

I simply think it is a hangover from the early days when crocs were heavily hunted for skins etc and their numbers became quite low.
I think hunting them was banned in the 50's (???) and the ban still applies even though their numbers have bounced back considerably since then.

Bill, Same as everything in Oz, Us old farts shot themout. Now we breed the bastards to entertain the tourists. Mind you, tourists versus croc. You have got to back the crocs.
There was some talk of organising croc culling in the Territory but the treehugers stuffed it.

Over 600 wild crocodiles are "harvested" from the wild each year, with CITES permits available if needed.

A proposal has been at least twice floated with the support of the Northern Territory and Queensland State Governments to allow sport hunting of 25 saltwater crocs. Beneficiaries included local Aboriginal communities whom are very poor and would have collected sizable trophy fees.

The second time Steve Irwin the anti-hunting dickhead said he would raise hell if it was allowed. Yet he "acquires" crocs from the wild for "conservation" in his tourist "zoo". The Federal Government squashed both attempts.

A third attempt earlier this year was some sort of scheme where Australian resident hunters could ask an outfitter to apply for a special permit from the NT government. No export would be possible, therefore the resident bit. Not sure if this was squashed, still possible or what has happened to the idea.

Regarding not being able to hunt local natie species, permits for over 4.5 to 6.0 million kangaroos are issued every year to professional shooters, or landowners for cropping or pest destruction permits. But other than one state, it is not possible to legally shoot a kangaroo for sporting purposes. The result, probably a sizable number of roos are shot illegally anyway.

We USED to be able to hunt ducks in almost every Australian state. But now I believe WA, NSW and Qld have banned duck hunting. SA, NT certainly still allows it and I suppose Vic and Tasmania still do too. However I doubt we will see a duck season in 2007 do to the severe drought.

IMHO, the biggest problem we have here is that unlike the US, the vast majority or our population lives in major cities near the coast - they have absolutely no f'g idea of what the real 'Australia' is like... as a result, they make decisions based on extremely limited (and often incorrect) 'knowledge'.