Jayli Bonow, an Australian influencer, has admitted being “stupid” for feeding a whole roast chicken to a crocodile in Queensland as she apologised and now faces a fine
An influencer who was blasted for feeding a roast chicken to a crocodile has apologised and faces a fine in Australia.
Jayli Bonow has now deleted the video where she said she thought it was a “good idea” to give the saltwater crocodile the chicken meal on the Russell River, near Babinda, Queensland last Wednesday.
She is seen in the video sitting on the bank and looking at the crocodile, who is known as Clyde by locals. Jayli said that she had given the “whole chook” or chicken to the reptile.
“Have a look at him, he is just feeding on that chook and absolutely lovin’ it,” she said. And she added: “I know there are going to be some heroes who come on here and go, “You can’t go anywhere near the crocodile. Well, I didn’t go anywhere near it and I stayed well away from the banks so shut your f***ing holes up.”
But she became less defiant after Australia ’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation began to investigate the incident. Ms Bonow now has shared a video where she has apologised and said she wants to raise awareness about the dangers of feeding crocodiles.
“So, yesterday I thought it would be a good idea to feed a saltwater crocodile,’ she said on Thursday,” she said. “Now, this is stupid in any case for the obvious reasons that it is so dangerous to feed saltwater crocs. I also didn’t realise that feeding crocodiles in Australia is illegal and that is why I want to bring awareness to the subject.”
She continued: “I was so uneducated yesterday and had no idea that feeding crocodiles was illegal. Now I know that feeding the crocs is detrimental to them and the public safety because it changes the behaviour of the crocs. Had I known that yesterday I wouldn’t have made the silly mistake.”
On the Government Department’s website it explains the risks of feeding crocodiles and also refers to new rules that were brought in last month to “deter people from engaging in dangerous or careless behaviours including feeding, disturbing and interfering with crocodiles”.
It states: “Monitoring has shown that feeding crocodiles increases the risk to public safety as the animals loiter around public places such as boat ramps, marinas, and tourist locations waiting for a feed.
“These discarded food sources and habituation to humans can lead to changes in animal behaviour and are the main reasons for the removal of problem crocodiles outside active removal zones. Two new offences have been introduced making it unlawful to unintentionally feed a crocodile by discarding food and remaining in close proximity to a crocodile.”
It is now an offence to discard food (including fish frames, scraps and bait) in a way that may attract crocodiles to a public place such as a boat ramp, jetty, pontoon or camping area or park adjacent to water and where there is a sign warning of the presence of crocodiles in the vicinity, states the department. There are on-the-spot fines of $483 (£250) and maximum court-imposed fines of $6,452 (£3,341).