Kennedy River crocodile attack: Robbie Katter calls for cull after fisherman feared dead

The disappearance of a fisherman who is feared dead in a suspected attack by a crocodile has prompted a culling of the dangerous predators.

Kevin Darmody, 65, was fishing on the banks of the Kennedy River in Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park, in remote Far North Queensland, at 3:30pm Saturday.

Nearby campers recalled hearing screams and frantic splashes of fear. Mr. Darmody was taken by a crocodile.

Queensland MP Robbie Katter said crocodile numbers in the region had ‘exploded’ and demanded action be taken.

“The government would have you believe it’s all about awareness, but the numbers don’t lie, the latest numbers I know… sightings jumped from 100 a year to 1,000 a year in the space of 10 years,” he said. Sunrise told Monday.

“Any politician worth their salt in Queensland who is on the scene knows anecdotally that they are exploding numbers, they are popping up in the pub, literally on the footpath and in schools.”

Mr. Katter wants the state government to review its crocodile management program so that the endangered species can be culled.

“There will always be a tax because you’re never going to prevent fishermen on the banks or in the water from being caught by crocodiles every now and then,” he said.

“We have been pushing for years to get them under control, like we fight koalas, kangaroos and wild dogs when the numbers are too high.

“The numbers are now too high for crocodiles and we are not allowed to control them.”

Mr Katter claimed there is no alternative but to kill crocodiles as the territorial predators move up the river system and overtake waterways where locals swim.

Kevin Darmody, 65, was fishing on the banks of the Kennedy River in Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park, in remote Far North Queensland at 3:30pm Saturday

He said the locals don’t hate crocodiles, they love them, but the problem was that crocodiles love the locals “a little too much”.

“My immediate response and it sounds a bit blunt, but how about dumping them in your river and seeing how you can live with them,” said Mr. Katter.

“I take my family to the Gregory River and we swim there because there are no crocodiles, but they are coming up the Gregory now.

“At Lake Placid, where I swam as a child, you’re not allowed to swim there anymore.”

“Nature is out of balance and it may sound ugly and distasteful to people, but it’s getting harder and harder to push these things through and it’s a harsh reality if we want to enjoy our waterways.”

In the 1970s, estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles were hunted to near extinction and as a result were classified as a vulnerable species under the 1992 Wildlife Conservation Act.

The Government of Queensland has a statewide crocodile management program that ensures public safety while enabling the survival of wild crocodiles.

Mr Katter said the crocodile population in Queensland is ‘exploding’ and as a result the territorial animals are moving up the river system and into waterways where locals swim

Mr. Darmody was fishing on the banks of the Kennedy River in Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park (pictured) when he disappeared (pictured, the area where Mr. Darmody was last seen alive)

Under the program, management is based on different crocodile zones, with the reptiles removed from areas across the state under certain conditions according to the level of risk they pose to the public.

Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park, where a crocodile is believed to have snatched Mr Darmody, is one of only six major saltwater crocodile conservation areas in Queensland.

Mr Darmody, a publican in the rural town of Laura – about 75km from where he disappeared – was an avid fisherman who regularly documented his fishing trips on social media.

His most recent post, dating from 2015, was a series of photos of a mauling crocodile.

The photo appears to show a smaller, young crocodile in a stretch of river that Darmody said was a friend’s favorite fishing spot.

Friends and acquaintances revealed that Mr. Darmody, who was also known as ‘Stumpy’, had a thorough knowledge of fishing in dangerous waters and was aware of the risks involved.

“He was not a tourist or visitor to Cape York, he is or was a local, he knew the dangers, just bloody bad luck – in a split second you can be taken by a crocodile,” one person wrote.

Tributes poured for the missing tax collector, who ran the Peninsula Hotel in Laura, with some describing him as a “bloody top dude” and a “legend.”

Bart Harrison said his friend was nearby when Mr. Darmody disappeared from the water’s edge.

Bart Harrison, from Cooktown, said his friend was nearby when Mr. Darmody disappeared.

“A boy came up the road and yelled ‘he’s gone, he’s gone’ and my mate ran down the bank and said the water was all agitated and dirty, you could tell something bad had happened,” said Mr. Harrison The Cairns Post.

His most recent Facebook post (pictured) was a series of photos of a crocodile tearing up what looks like a smaller, young crocodile in a stretch of river he said was a friend’s favorite fishing hole

‘He was there fishing a few minutes earlier, then he was gone, his strings were on the bank,’ Mr Harrison added.

‘He’d lived here since I was a kid, been in the pub for a long time, went fishing a lot. He knew the river quite well, it’s really sad.’

Large crocodiles are often seen in the area, according to a government website describing the campground.

Both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles can inhabit “the rivers, creeks, marshes, wetlands, waterholes and along beaches” of the national park.