Abc News :
Northern Territory police are investigating how dozens of severed crocodile heads ended up half-thawed and rotting in a dumped freezer box outside Darwin.
A group of teenagers discovered the carcasses while riding their bikes through bushland in Humpty Doo, about 40 kilometres out of Darwin, on Sunday.
Territory Superintendent Greg Pusterla told 105.7 ABC Darwin that police called to the scene found between 50 and 70 small saltwater crocodile heads.
It’s not so rare. A lot of people keep some strange things in freezers.
One whole 80 centimetre carcass and several hatchlings were among the rotting freezer box remnants.
“It’s certainly an unusual report,” Superintendant Pusterla said.
The ABC understands NT police have since determined the heads came from the backyard of a person with a permit to keep crocodiles.
It is legal to keep crocodiles as pets in the Northern Territory, with some people housing reptiles in suburban backyard pens or makeshift bathtub ponds.
The Territory also has a thriving crocodile skin market worth an estimated $20 million.
The heads – the byproduct of the crocodile farming industry and generally removed at the base of the skull – often end up being re-sold as tourist items in the region’s animal parks. An esky in the bush with rotting crocodile heads inside.
Senior wildlife ranger Tommy Nichols specialises in crocodile management and was among those who attended the crime scene on Monday.
“[We saw] a deep freezer in a sad state of affairs,” Mr Nichols told 105.7 ABC Darwin.
“There was quite a bad smell and maggots around everywhere.”It was not the first time Mr Nichols had arrived to such a scene.
“It’s not so rare. A lot of people keep some strange things in freezers,” he said. Mr Nichols said he had previously discovered snakes, cane toads and “a puppy dog” stored in storage boxes and deep freezers.
Northern Territory police are investigating how dozens of severed crocodile heads ended up half-thawed and rotting in a dumped freezer box outside Darwin.
A group of teenagers discovered the carcasses while riding their bikes through bushland in Humpty Doo, about 40 kilometres out of Darwin, on Sunday.
Territory Superintendent Greg Pusterla told 105.7 ABC Darwin that police called to the scene found between 50 and 70 small saltwater crocodile heads.
It’s not so rare. A lot of people keep some strange things in freezers.
One whole 80 centimetre carcass and several hatchlings were among the rotting freezer box remnants.
“It’s certainly an unusual report,” Superintendant Pusterla said.
The ABC understands NT police have since determined the heads came from the backyard of a person with a permit to keep crocodiles.
It is legal to keep crocodiles as pets in the Northern Territory, with some people housing reptiles in suburban backyard pens or makeshift bathtub ponds.
The Territory also has a thriving crocodile skin market worth an estimated $20 million.
The heads – the byproduct of the crocodile farming industry and generally removed at the base of the skull – often end up being re-sold as tourist items in the region’s animal parks. An esky in the bush with rotting crocodile heads inside.
Senior wildlife ranger Tommy Nichols specialises in crocodile management and was among those who attended the crime scene on Monday.
“[We saw] a deep freezer in a sad state of affairs,” Mr Nichols told 105.7 ABC Darwin.
“There was quite a bad smell and maggots around everywhere.”It was not the first time Mr Nichols had arrived to such a scene.
“It’s not so rare. A lot of people keep some strange things in freezers,” he said. Mr Nichols said he had previously discovered snakes, cane toads and “a puppy dog” stored in storage boxes and deep freezers.
