The father of Steve Irwin has joined his estranged family to slam Bob Katter and his calls to cull crocodiles.
Bob Irwin Senior came out swinging on Wednesday to label the outspoken MP a ‘d***head’.
Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) introduced the Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill 2025 in February to the Queensland Government.
The aim of the proposed law is to ‘eliminate crocodiles which pose a threat to human life’ while protecting them from going extinct.
The move has prompted outrage from the Irwin family with Bob the latest member to publicly share his opposition to it.
‘He’s not listening to the people that know. He has no idea of how the environment works and that’s his problem,’ the Australia Zoo founder told The Courier Mail.
Bob had spoken at state parliament earlier in the day against the legislation.
‘Steve and I have learnt from the word go that if you want to be successful with anything you want to do with crocodiles, you’ve got to get inside their head figuratively,’ he said.
Conservationist Bob Irwin Senior (pictured, left) has criticised Katter’s Australian Party for introducing a bill to Queensland government that intends to cull crocodile publications
‘So we spent a lot of time doing nothing else but observing what crocodiles do.’
Bob added there have been previous situations where someone calls for the culling of crocodiles, but said people did not listen to researchers and scientists.
Katter’s son and KAP leader Robbie defended the bill while taking aim at the Irwin family.
He claimed they were ‘entertainers’ with little understanding of regional communities’ fears.
He also told state parliament his father’s knowledge came from speaking to his constituents in north Queensland.
Although estranged from his son’s wife and children, Bob’s statements echoed that of Terri, who submitted a letter to the government criticising the proposed law.
His daughter-in-law described the bill as ‘more dangerous than previous efforts’ to argue in favour of culling crocodile populations.
‘It is such a lazy and sloppy attempt to recycle old draft legislation,’ Terri said.
MP Bob Katter Senior (pictured) had slammed Terri Irwin last week over her criticism of the bill
The proposed legislation aims to ‘eliminate crocodiles which pose a threat to human life’ but also ensure they are not threatened with extinction (stock image)
In issuing her comments, Terri came under fire from Katter on Friday.
‘How would you know all about crocodiles if you live in Brisbane?’ he said in a video published to Facebook.
‘Oh that’s right, she’s got them all locked up in a cage in Brisbane.’
KAP MP for Hill Shane Knuth, who submitted the bill, joined the pile-on.
‘The Irwin’s built a multimillion dollar business off the back of crocodiles,’ he wrote on social media.
‘And now they’re lecturing North Queenslanders on how to enjoy our recreational waterways while they’re infested with crocs – and getting worse.
‘Spare us the patronising ‘Crocwise’ slogans. We don’t need a zoo telling us how to survive in our own backyard.’
The Irwin family feud began 13 years ago when Bob quit Australia Zoo because he was concerned the wildlife park he’d founded in 1970 was becoming a ‘circus’.
Various reports from the time of Bob’s exit claim he was worried the Sunshine Coast tourist attraction was becoming ‘too commercial – and even feared a then nine-year-old Bindi was being pushed into child stardom.
When Bob left the zoo for good in 2008 – two years after the death of his famous son – Terri was said to be planning a five-year expansion ‘to make it Australia’s peak tourist destination with a Disneyland feel’.
This plan apparently didn’t sit well with Bob, who felt Australia Zoo should focus on conservation instead of following a commercial path and becoming a ‘circus’.
