When it comes to elections, India wins the ‘most interesting democracy‘ award hands down. But hold on to your akubras, folks. Australia‘s stepping up to the plate with some top-notch competition. Last week, during the elections in Northern Territory (NT), the land of Crocodile Dundee, the big-ticket issue wasn’t roti, kapda aur beer, but the very filmi issue of the right to keep a pet croc, the Harley-Davidson of pets. NT‘s one of the last places where you can still have these scaly mates. While the Labour Party gave the thumbs down to this reptilian ride, the Country Liberal Party was all in, cheering for the ‘croc-keeping rocks!’ lifestyle.
Many of the captive crocs in NT are either raised from hatchlings, or rehomed from farms and wild troublemakers. One of the owners said he wanted to give these misunderstood reptiles a place to ‘just live their lives out – happy, well-fed, and not worrying about getting shot at’. Well-fed?! Hope not Raja Bhaiya a.k.a. Raghuraj Pratap Singh-style? Legend goes that the MLA from Kunda, UP, fed foes to his pet crocodiles. But in NT, it’s a bit less dramatic. All that pet croc owners want is for political parties and animal activists to understand that while one can’t ‘spend many nights… watching TV, snuggling with your 4½ m crocodile’, there’s ‘still that emotional attachment’. With its impressive jawline.
