CROCODILE Hunter Steve Irwin feeds huge crocodile while holding a baby near jaws !!!

[MORTARDUDE]

Even Michael ( Jacko ) Jackson wouldn't do something this stupid !!!!!

http://news.com.au/common/story_page...55E952,00.html


Irwin a 'bloody idiot'

Catriona Mathewson

January 3, 2004

CROCODILE hunter Steve Irwin sparked outrage yesterday when he dangled his baby son a metre from the jaws of a crocodile as a publicity stunt at his wildlife park.


CHILD'S play or stupidity ... crocodile catcher Steve Irwin with his one-month-old son Bob feeds Murray the crocodile at his wildlife park yesterday. Picture taken from Channel 7 TV footage of the stunt which can be seen on Today Tonight's website www.todaytonight.com.au





Child advocates branded the Queenslander of the Year reckless for holding one-month-old son, Bob, under his arm while feeding the 4m crocodile a dead chicken during a show for the public and media at Australia Zoo.

Wife Terri looked on as Irwin then "walked" his son along the ground next to the crocodile pool as the reptile, Murray, lurked nearby.

Keith Cook, the owner of Cairns Crocodile Farm and an industry veteran of 18 years, called Irwin a Hollywood version of Daniel Boone. "I think he's a bloody idiot, he's addicted to the attention," he said.

Child support groups likened the stunt to pop star Michael Jackson dangling his nine-month-old son over a balcony in Germany in 2002.

Australian Family Association spokesman Bill Muehlenberg said Irwin's conduct was tantamount to child abuse.

He said Irwin had no right to put his baby in peril.

"Most parents would cringe at the sight of such things. One slip, one fall and he is the crocodile's lunch," he said.

"You have to wonder what his motive was. It's probably good for ratings but not very good for the baby."




Irwin faces an investigation by child protection officers and safety inspectors with the incident sparking numerous complaints to Sunshine Coast police and a Families Department crisis hotline.

Under Workplace Health and Safety laws unauthorised people cannot enter a crocodile enclosure which is part of a public display.

Within hours Families Minister Judy Spence had called for unedited video tapes and Workplace Health and Safety officers confirmed they would also examine the matter.

"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," Ms Spence said.


Irwin seemed surprised people were shocked by the show ? organised as a media opportunity to mark the arrival of elephants and for Tibetan nuns to bless baby Bob.

"If I had known it was going to cause a ruckus I would have thrown them (the media) out by their ears," he said. "I was in complete control of the crocodile. Robert was tucked right in my arm.

"It is far more dangerous to pack your kid up and go out on the road."

The show was billed as Bob's "croc-feeding debut".

"Good boy, Bob," Irwin said as Murray's jaws snapped shut on the food.

"He's one-month-old, so it's about time Bob got out there and did his first croc demo," Irwin told the crowd. Irwin's wife Terri backed the decision to include Bob.

"When I put him back in the pram he had big eyes and he was smiling and it was a wonderful sensory experience for him. He dug it," she said. Irwin said he took the "sting" out of the crocodile by luring him on to land.

"Once you get a fish out of water the game changes. I felt it was safe enough to take Bob in there," he said.

"I did the same with Bindi (the couple's five-year-old daughter) and no one said anything. My kids are going to grow up here at the zoo catching crocodiles so they have to be aware of what's around them at the earliest possible stage.

"It's very similar to the 'Do the Five ? Stay Alive', Lawrie Lawrence's fantastic (learn to swim) campaign."

[HARDCORE]

LARRY -

I just saw the live piece on the tube, and I am here to tell you, that Steve Irwin acted irresponsibly. Moves like that and the one perpetrated by Jackson could come back to haunt in short order!

If a guy (or gal) wants to risk his own arse, that is one thing! But to pull off a stupid move like he did, echos of either too much Fosters or too little common sense (opinion)!?

VERITAS

[Keith_Hixson]

My wife would have killed me. Saw the entire clip. It was irresponsible.

However, for someone like him who makes his living taking extreme chances. It probably wasn't as dangerous as it seemed.

But, one word for it. DUMB!

Keith

[MORTARDUDE]

I have been watching this guy off and on since he first surfaced on TV. He tends to go way overboard sometimes. He is very smart and is good at what he does, but watching him tempt fate by getting up close and personal with the world's most poisonous snakes, play venom-spitting games with a 12 ft. cobra ( a real weird one ), jump in the water at midnight, by himself, with big crocs, and on and on... I knew he would eventually go too far. His 30 day old son could have easily become a small snack for the croc. The bad thing was 6,000 folks in the stadium were clapping because they were as into it as he was. Only afterwards did other folks start raising Hell about it.

Larry

[David]

I guess it is time to move every parent and their children out of the Austalian outback, Africa, the Amazon, India, the everglades, and now that I think about it, most of the third world and build houses for them next door to us. If we don't then we are contributing to the abuse of these people and their children by letting them and their children come in close contact with these and other types of dangerous animals on a daily basis right?

I do not know how many people who have commented here have any idea about Steve Irwin's past but his parents owned the Australian Zoo that he now runs. He grew up with these animals under foot as have millions upon millions of other people around the world. I cannot express how ridiculous it sounds to me to hear people apply our western standards to the much heartier and earthly Australians.

I might also point out that every time we shove a big mac or whopper down our children's throats we are doing a thousand times the damage Steve did in beginning to teach his child from birth to understand and respect the nature of the world around him.

The saddest thing about this whole affair is that a great naturalist with a real flair for gaining attention and preserving whats left our our environment will now be vilified by people who in their lifetimes could not hope to understand such a man or the nature he works to protect.

[MORTARDUDE]

David :

I have been a fan of Steve's from the git-go and I know his life story...that having been said, he is not perfect..I have seen bloopers of his shows and saw him make serious mistakes. This was just wrong. Having older children learn about wildlife thr-uout the world is a must, if we are to preserve any of it. for their children.

Larry

P.S. :

He is always saying "you shouldn't do this" and he does it. Of course, he is a trained professional.........

P.P.S. :

If you all have any Krystal hamburger shops where you live, the next time you buy one of the little burgers, pull out the gray gooey ersatz meat.. and look at it...Yuck !!!