Crocodile ownership has become a contentious issue in the Northern Territory with both the Country Liberal Party and Labor making their case on the issue.
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00:00Roger Matthews catches crocs that threaten lives and property across the Northern Territory,
00:09but he'd rather see salties rehomed.
00:12It's disappointing for me because not everyone ends up on the slab.
00:18There's half a dozen people that I've had to knock back from having a pet crocodile.
00:22The seasoned crocodile handler says the Labor government's plan to not issue new licences
00:28left him blindsided.
00:29I had no idea that was going to be part of the plan of management at all.
00:34One of those prospective owners is Tom Hayes.
00:37Heartbroken he can't live out a boyhood dream of owning an apex predator as a pet.
00:43It is from a farm, so now we're not quite sure what's going to happen.
00:49I can't help this big old beautiful animal and that breaks my heart a little bit.
00:54Owners like Jo Langham, whose husband received a permit before the rule change, will remain
00:59unaffected.
01:00She says looking after her croc, Horry, is easy.
01:04No pet sitters, no walking, no coochie cooing required.
01:09But owning one of these beasts isn't for the faint hearted and requires stringent safety
01:15conditions.
01:16It's not really something to be entered into lightly.
01:17You're still playing with a wild creature and you need to know what to expect.
01:23Owning one of these animals has become somewhat of a political battleground in the Northern
01:27Territory with both the country Liberal opposition and the Labor Party staking their claims on
01:33crocodile pet ownership in an attempt to snap up votes.
01:37Let's remember they are an apex predator and probably not one that's best kept for captivity.
01:43In a statement, the country Liberal Party says it supports the rights of Territorians
01:48to own crocs as pets under a permit system and it would review the new permit ban if
01:54elected.
01:55A truly Territorian political scrap.