Steve Irwin's father slams 'disgusting' influencer for wrestling with crocodiles
The father of Australia's Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, has condemned "reckless" content creators amid outrage over a US influencer shown wrestling the wild reptiles.
Mike Holston, known as "The Real Tarzann" on social media, has been slammed by animal rights supporters and Australian authorities for two controversial videos he posted to his millions of followers.
In the footage posted on Instagram, he is shown chasing and catching freshwater and saltwater crocodiles in Cape York in Far North Queensland.
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American influencer Mike Holston, known on social media as "The Real Tarzann", has been condemned for catching wild crocodiles in Queensland. Instagram
Now Bob Irwin has joined the chorus of condemnation, demanding officials deport him, the Brisbane Times reports.
He also insisted his late television personality son was not to blame for the actions of Holston and other content creators.
"This isn't a Steve Irwin issue; this is about an individual illegally interfering with protected fauna," Bob said.
"When people compare the behaviour of blokes like Mike Holston to what Steve did, or claim they were influenced by him, it really gets under my skin."
Bob said his son's interactions with crocodiles were about respecting wildlife, and he always held the correct permits.
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The father of Steve Irwin has joined the criticism of influencers mistreating Australian animals. Nine
He said Holston had "no clue" about what he was doing.
"The crocodile is clearly under extreme stress – it's disgusting," Irwin said of one of the posts showing the influencer grappling with one of the animals.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli yesterday called Holston "a goose" over his handling of the crocodiles, while state environment officials opened an investigation into his actions.
Fines for interfering with crocodiles can lead to fines up to $37, 500.
Earlier this year, influencer Sam Jones stoked outrage when on her visit to Australia she grabbed a baby wombat from its mother.
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American woman Sam Jones holding a wombat after grabbing it from the mother. samstrays_somewhere
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined condemnation of the American woman's actions, describing the images as an "outrage".
"To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage," he said.
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- With AAP
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