Hunters eye Australian crocodiles

The area's crocodile population is now thought to exceed 75,000

Rich tourists and trophy hunters may soon have a chance to bag their own saltwater crocodile, after an Australian state proposed lifting a hunting ban.

A Northern Territories government report recommended allowing a small number of the crocodiles to be hunted each year to give a lift to tourism and Aboriginal landowners.

The report said the crocodile, which became a protected species in 1971 after its numbers dwindled to a few thousand, had now recovered.

"Major benefits will accrue to landowners, particularly Aboriginal landowners," according to the report, which has now been released for public consultation.

The plan envisages allowing 25 crocodiles to be hunted each year. Hunters would be allowed to kill one mature animal, which can reach up to 7 metres (23 feet) in length, by shooting, harpooning or trapping.

The crocodiles occasionally attack humans. Last year, a 24-year-old German tourist was killed by a 4.2-metre (14-foot) crocodile after she went for a midnight swim in a river channel in the Kakadu National Park.