A North Queensland man has been fined $3,000 for breaching environmental laws after a 40-year-old saltwater crocodile was found shot and buried on his family's cattle property.
The decaying reptile's carcass was discovered by wildlife officers in a shallow grave on Lochinvar Station in the Burdekin Shire in December 2020.
Jamie Kelly, 37, pleaded guilty in the Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday to one charge of keeping native wildlife reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully taken.
The court heard the crocodile, which was shot with a rifle, was 3.5 to four metres in length and approximately 40 years old.
A photograph taken from Kelly's phone and tendered to the court showed him holding the crocodile from the tail while it bled from the head.
Kelly was not charged with killing the animal.
Defence barrister Harvey Walters said the crocodile had been hanging around a waterway crossing that his client used to herd cattle.
"There was nothing commercial in this operation at all — the crocodile was taken and buried immediately," Mr Walters said.
"It's no excuse … however in these circumstances the crocodile was killed by another person and my client helped with the disposal."
The Department of Environment and Science launched an investigation after a tip-off from Kelly's ex-partner.
The department's lawyer, Eva Sheppard, said offences of this nature were typically difficult to detect.
"Experts have identified this crocodile as a large, mature-aged crocodile.
"The key sentencing factor in this case is both general and specific deterrence — the message should be sent to landholders that it is unlawful to keep any vulnerable wildlife."
Magistrate Scott Luxton fined Kelly $3,000 and ordered him to pay $1,500 in legal costs.
"There is obviously a need to not only send a message to you that behaviour of this type will not be tolerated," Magistrate Luxton said.
No conviction was recorded.
