"Croc Hunter" Steve Irwin Avoids Charges

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story....d=20040102LON95

 

No Charges in Crocodile-Infant Stunt

By JAMIE TARABAY

 

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - ``Crocodile hunter'' Steve Irwin has survived tussles with giant pythons, poisonous snakes and, of course, crocodiles. Now he faces accusations that he went too far and endangered his infant son.

 

Irwin drew fire from child welfare groups, but the acting premier of Queensland state, Terry Mackenroth, said no charges would be filed for a stunt in which Irwin fed a crocodile with one hand while cradling his month-old son, Robert, in the other on Friday in front of an audience.

 

``There won't be any charges brought against him; the department of children's services have done what they needed to do, to contact the family and to talk to them about it,'' Mackenroth said.

 

``They've (the Irwin family) assured them that it won't happen again and I am sure that if it does they will be back in touch with them,'' he said.

 

The incident at Irwin's popular reptile park in Beerwah, north of Brisbane, was captured on Australian television, and viewers later jammed phone lines to express their outrage.

 

``I think he's a bloody idiot, he's addicted to the attention,'' crocodile farm owner Keith Cook told The Courier-Mail newspaper.

 

At a news conference Saturday, Irwin said he probably would have done things differently with his son.

 

``If I could have my time again I would probably do things a little differently,'' he said. ``But I would be considered a bad parent if I did not teach my children crocodile savvy because they live here. They live in crocodile territory ... so they have to be croc savvy.''

 

He also claimed the danger posed by the crocodile was exaggerated.

 

``It's all about perceived danger; I was in complete control,'' said Irwin, flanked by his father, his wife and his 5-year-old daughter, Bindi. ``People say, 'Well, what if you had fallen?' But for that to take place a meteorite would have had to come out of the sky and hit Australia at 6.6 on the Richter scale like in Iran.''

 

Irwin has gained worldwide fame for his ``Crocodile Hunter'' show on the Animal Planet network, in which he chats excitedly about exotic and dangerous creatures - sometimes from extremely close proximity to the beasts. Animal Planet's Web site features several ``Close Call Clips'' that show Irwin getting bitten or merrily escaping the jaws of hungry reptiles.

 

Friday's footage on Australian TV showed Irwin feeding a dead chicken to a 13-foot crocodile named Murray while he held Bob in the other hand. Murray snapped up the meat.

 

``Good boy, Bob,'' Irwin said, according to the tabloid Herald Sun. He then balanced the boy on the ground after the crocodile had retreated to the water.

 

Irwin's American wife, Terri, had handed the baby over to Irwin in the enclosure and giggled at the spectacle.

 

``It was a wonderful sensory experience for him (the baby). He dug it,'' she said.

 

In response to media criticism, Terri likened her children's experience with crocodiles to teaching youngsters to swim.

 

``I watched children learning to swim at a very young age; they cry, they scream and they have nightmares about the water. Would you rather have a child learning to swim under duress or drowning peacefully in the pond in the backyard? I think teaching children about croc safety is extremely important.''

 

The stunt drew comparisons to singer Michael Jackson handling of his infant son in Berlin in November 2002. A national newspaper, The Australian, called it ``a bizarre act at his Sunshine Coast zoo that mirrored Michael Jackson's dangling of his newborn over a balcony.''

 

Queensland state's workplace safety authority was investigating if Irwin violated safety laws, which bar unauthorized people from entering a crocodile enclosure that is part of a public display. Police officers went to the zoo to tell Irwin that people objected to the incident, but no charges were brought.

 

Animal Planet released a statement on its Web site criticizing the stunt.

 

``Based on the footage we have seen, we believe a mistake was made,'' the statement said. ``That said, we know from the many years we have worked with Steve, that his family is the most important thing in his life and he takes his role as a father very seriously.''

 

Irwin has never been shy about putting himself - and occasionally his family - in what appear to be precarious situations. In its report, Channel 7 showed footage of Bindi swimming with a giant python, while Terri frequently joins him on his television jaunts.

 

``Bindi is very croc-savvy and we live in crocodile territory so they (the children) have to be croc-savvy,'' Irwin told reporters.

 

Child support and family groups said Irwin should never have exposed his son to such peril.

 

``Most parents would cringe at the sight of such things,'' Bill Muehlenberg of the Australian Family Association told the Herald Sun. ``One slip, one fall and he is the crocodile's lunch.''

 

Queensland's Families Minister Judy Spence was seeking unedited tapes of the incident.

 

``I have seen the television footage and while I have no doubt the Irwins love their children very much, I believe it was an error of judgment to place a baby in a potentially dangerous situation,'' Spence said.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

It was a wonderful sensory experience for him (the baby). He dug it.

 

If Steve would have let go, it would have been an even better "sensory experience" for Irwin Jr.

 

I'll leave the Michael Jackson comparisons to another poster...

[Lando Griffin 0]

Well. we already knew the guy was nuts.

[Guest Ghettoman]

I don't see the problem. Pretty much like driving a car with your baby in it, if you know what your doing, that danger isn't really there.

[Youth N Asia 0]

People in his kind of profession raise their children around elements like this anyway. If Michael was a professional baby dangler then there wouldn't have been such an uproar.

 

Ehh, I'm sure the kid was in little danger, but it did look a little creepy.

[Guest SP-1]

Irwin knows what he's doing. If he didn't, there wouldn't be "close call" clips, there'd be one big, "Death of Steve Irwin" clip floating around Kazaa right now.

 

Children are babied too much these days anyway. Blatant exposure to actual danger is one thing, teaching them a cool head and control in a somewhat dangerous situation is another. I wish my dad would have taken me into croc pits when I was a kid. That would have ruled.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

I just liked when he had the baby on the grass and made it appear as though the baby was running away from the croc

[DARRYLXWF 0]

There's a cultural disease in Australia called tall-poppy syndrome. As soon as ANYONE becomes remotely successfull and wealthy, then it's the duty of the media and the public to completely destroy his/her life and put them back into place. Yes, it's a common human characteristic, but moreso down under. And I fucking hate it.

[Styles 0]

I don't see the problem either. I mean, it was STUPID, yes, but geez it's his kid, and he's been doing this for god knows how many years so I trust his own judgement with his own kid. Plus, it's not like something happened! I mean, everything came off fine.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

The kid looked perfectly safe to me. A crocodile is hardly as dangerous as a fall from a balcony, and Irwin had complete control. I fail to see the comparison.

[MrRant 0]

I wouldn't do it with my kid but if anyone would be able to do it safely, then I think Irwin would be the one.

[Skywarp! 0]

In Greenwich, CT, Vince McMahon is plotting his Michael Jackson/Steve Irwin tag team baby-dangling duo gimmick.

 

"A dangling baby on a pole match! Yes!"

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

There's a cultural disease in Australia called tall-poppy syndrome. As soon as ANYONE becomes remotely successfull and wealthy, then it's the duty of the media and the public to completely destroy his/her life and put them back into place. Yes, it's a common human characteristic, but moreso down under. And I fucking hate it.

It just doesn't happen in your part of the world, believe me.

 

BTW: I'm curious, do you folks from Down Under refer to Australia as a "country" or "continent"? Just curious...

[DARRYLXWF 0]

Country.

[spiny norman 0]

I think we see it as both actually. The country-continent.

 

I don't agree with this tall poppy syndrome being prevalent here at all. It depends on the person and the way they present themselves to the public.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

There's a cultural disease in Australia called tall-poppy syndrome. As soon as ANYONE becomes remotely successfull and wealthy, then it's the duty of the media and the public to completely destroy his/her life and put them back into place. Yes, it's a common human characteristic, but moreso down under. And I fucking hate it.

That's pretty common online, actually. I dub thee, "Bill Gates syndrome."

[tommytomlin 0]

I never thought of saying I'm from 'the continent of Australia'. It does sound cooler. It's not like anyone else has their own continent, they all have roommates and stuff. We'd be like the cool kid in high school who lived away from his parents!

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Does Britian still have any say in what goes on over there? If so it should remain a country or even a territory belonging to Britian.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

ya know the disturbing thing about this?

 

the kid is BALD

 

how can the baby NOT have good hair? his father and mother have some somewhat interesting hair. That kid should have a full head of hair.

 

My theory: Steve's not the father.

[Vern Gagne 0]

The leadsinger from Midnight Oil is the father....

[MrRant 0]

ya know the disturbing thing about this?

 

the kid is BALD

 

how can the baby NOT have good hair? his father and mother have some somewhat interesting hair. That kid should have a full head of hair.

 

My theory: Steve's not the father.

It's a freakin month old.

 

That's normal for some babies.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I never thought of saying I'm from 'the continent of Australia'. It does sound cooler. It's not like anyone else has their own continent, they all have roommates and stuff.

How quickly we forget about Antarctica...

[Ravenbomb 0]

Did anybody see Irwin on the Today show? He was getting pissed at the guy for saying "Well, what if you dropped him?" and such. I don't blame him (Irwin), he was being an ass.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Did anybody see Irwin on the Today show? He was getting pissed at the guy for saying "Well, what if you dropped him?" and such. I don't blame him (Irwin), he was being an ass.

Irwin should have told Lauer that he loved the Clintons. Then the rest of his questions would have been softballs.

 

Steve should have shot back, "Well what about all the coke that I heard about you sniffing back in the day?"...

[Prime Time Andrew Doyle 0]

There's a cultural disease in Australia called tall-poppy syndrome. As soon as ANYONE becomes remotely successfull and wealthy, then it's the duty of the media and the public to completely destroy his/her life and put them back into place. Yes, it's a common human characteristic, but moreso down under. And I fucking hate it.

It just doesn't happen in your part of the world, believe me.

 

Man, You have no idea how god damn bad it is down here. Llyeton Hewyit (Sp?) Was hated when he first became big, Shane Warne (A Famous Cricketer) is loved by some, but there are some [oeple who hate him just because he is so damn good. The way the Steve Irwin thing has been protrayed over here has been ridiculous. The fact that Child Welfare looked like it was going to get involved was sutpid and pointless. No harm was done to the baby, and if the reaction of the crowd is anything to go by, it was never in any danger. Sure, the stunt may have seem pointless, but hey, if it is teaching some sort of lession to the kid, good on him for atleast getting his kid used to the environment from a very early age

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

Does Britian still have any say in what goes on over there?

No. The Queen is still their Queen, but it doesnt mean anything in terms of power obviously.

 

Anyway, I really hate so many people getting all self riteous and condemning Irwin like this. If he didnt know how to deal with animals he'd be dead by now.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

In Canada we love any Canadian who makes it big in the US. We even take credit for guys like Lennox Lewis who left the country.

[tommytomlin 0]

I never thought of saying I'm from 'the continent of Australia'. It does sound cooler. It's not like anyone else has their own continent, they all have roommates and stuff.

How quickly we forget about Antarctica...

Antarctica is the whore of the planet. Every two-bit country has 'territory' there.

 

 

 

And yeah, Britain hasn't had a say in Australian affairs ever since we took our troops back during World War 2 and got America to be our big brother instead. Even the Queen's ceremonial duties (such as opening sporting events, or going to war memorials etc etc) have been taken over by the Prime Minister. The Queen's representative in Australia, the Governor-General, has the power to dissolve governments and basically turn Australia into a dictatorship if he so pleased, but the last time the G-G actually used his power in the 1970's, we had a constitutional crisis. Most Australians don't even know the current Governor-General's name, which shows how little influence he, and his boss the Queen, have on the nation.

 

Infact, had it not been for the shitty and unpopular republican model that was put forward in the 1999 Australian Republic Referendum, we would be a republic by now.