The Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin is a Moron!

Al

Likes or Dislikes of Steve Irwin aside. We in the Herp Bussiness be it from Hobbiest to Breeders to Wholesalers to have a right to condem any behavior that can effect our bussiness/ hobby.

Mr Irwin in this instance chose to be on TV he chooses to do acts that are inherently dangerous and he does these actions for spectacle and the money involved. His direct actions reflect on US as keepers of these animals and people unfamiliar with us see us through his actions and associate us to be like him.

As for your " what if's " exactly it is what if so here is a big what if. With his popularity and his " experiance" what does everyone think will happen WHEN he gets bit. Many people will say all people who work with these animals and keep them are nuts and we need laws to protect us from them... That is not a IF it is a fact that has happened already in many places.

The inherit dangers that go with working with these animals most of us except and understand but we also know that accidents happen and take precautions to avoid them. Mr Irwin flirts with these dangers for ratings. When your in the eyes of the public you should become twice as careful as to not show a dim view of a group or groups of people especially when you portray yourself as carring so much about the animals.

Here is another video of the event. Taken from another view.
http://www.interactiveoriginals.com.au/irwin/

You'll need to have Apple QuickTime installed to view the video

I disagree with the "facts" presented below the video... Crocs are not slow on land. Slower than in the water but by no means are they slothful. I also continually object to people labeling him one of the world's foremost experts on the behavior of crocodilians, it's simply NOT TRUE.

Interesting to see another angle but it certainly doesn't convince me that there was any validity to the action.

Many have compaired Michael Jackson's little stunt with his baby (holding over balcony on an upper level story) to this Irwin croc feeding thing.

Personally I think that what Jacko did was worse because of who Jackson is as compared to who Irwin is. I think that the followers of Jackson are more likely to copy his behaviors as are the followers of Irwin.

Most of us who own crocs understand what a croc is capable of. We know because we work with them and have seen others in action with them. Of course the hobby/profession has seen it's less knowledgable participants. I saw a guy get bit quite a few times by a green mamba while he was toked up and he finished his beer before he put the mamba away and went to the hospital. Dummy. But for the most part we are a bunch of sensationalists.

However, with the "current" situation with Jacko there have been random specials about his fans. I saw one where a gentleman was having cosmetic surgery so that he could look more like Jackson.

I wouldn't put it past some of these jackson fanatics to copy Jackson's child rearing behaviors. However, I can't see any hobbyist/professional herper taking there child into a croc pen like Irwin did. Time will tell though. Perhaps we will see a copy cat behavior. That will make for an interesting law suit about neglicence and liability or whatever they come up with. (Like with the law suits about the kids who copied Beavis and Butthead...)

Just my thoughts. I'm a little curious what you all think though...

yes, what if....

Mr Irwin's actions are for shock value, otherwise nobody would watch his show. The fast pace, the jumping over the fences, and snatching small freshies out of the water. I wouldn't call him the foremost expert either but I'm pretty sure that he knows his stuff on his turf.

Even though I think this is total overreaction by us as viewers, I will agree with Scott Bice. His actions will reflect on keepers of exotics. People will always stereotype others and lump them all together. If he gets bit, (honestly it's probably just a matter of time), yes, there will be probably be a law in motion to protect us from our own stupidity. All gene pools need some type of cleasing from time to time. But he is right, that when you are in the public eye, you need to have some foresight before doing things. Too many copycats for everything. Our kids are being raised by TV's and not enough parents.

Scott Robinson

Originally posted by Missymonkey
I saw a guy get bit quite a few times by a green mamba while he was toked up and he finished his beer before he put the mamba away and went to the hospital. Dummy. But for the most part we are a bunch of sensationalists.

Damn. That's just scary. Mambas don't deserve the bad reputation they have, but they are fast movers and your reflexes and good judgement should not be impaired while handling them. Anyone foolish enough to work with venomous snakes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol deserves what they get.

Unfortunately the rest of us responsible keepers *don't* deserve what we get when an idiot gets bitten because he did something amazingly stupid, like play with mambas while stoned. More restrictive laws, zoos angry about private keepers draining their antivenom supply, and bad publicity all around.

From medical case histories, one of the most common venomous snake bite profiles involves a young intoxicated male and is not truly accidental; eg, the "victim" saw the snake and approached or attacked it deliberately. Come to think of it the real victim in these cases is the snake, not the drunken idiot who really should have left the poor thing alone.

... and he is an idiot.

I used to think he was amusing, in that I was wrong. He's dangerous, oh not as dangerous to his kids as some people are screaming, but very dangerous to all of our priviledges to keep non-traditional pets.

He seeks the public eye and made a serious error in judgement with that stunt. Responsible people around the world simply do not tolerate risks to small children, from animals or parrents. Do not forget, there would have been zero risk if the baby had been left out of the show.

It is very true that he is being bashed beyond what the episode requires by people with their own agendas. Let us, the herpetocultural community, not be caught up in the same dishonest game; Irwin screwed up, he does not best represent our interests. We should distance ourselves from him. Irwin is not about reptiles or reptile keepers or even nature, Irwin is about irwin.

These are my opinions.
Gus

One other comment. In my opinion the argument "this happened outside of the US so it shouldn't concern us that much", is not valid. This happened right in our living rooms, and it was watched by million of American viewers. That's public opinion, and it counts, whether it happens here or in Australia.

Regards.

Sorry, but I could resist posting this.