A spate of crocodile attacks in Australia's Top End has led to a proposal for the widespread culling of the animals and a “croc-free zone” to be put in place around Darwin.

The draft plan by the Northern Territory Environment Minister will include a no-tolerance zone in which saltwater crocodiles found within a 30-mile radius of Darwin would be killed or captured.

The proposal was made after the death of Briony Goodsell, 11, who was taken by a crocodile while swimming in a swamp near her home in Lambells Lagoon, a rural town 30 miles east of Darwin last month.

Her death, which was the third crocodile fatality in Australia since September, has caused concern about the number of large saltwater crocodiles in populated areas.

There are croc-free zones in the Darwin city area and Darwin Harbour but the plan is to include rural areas in which crocodile populations are on the rise. The crocodiles would be caught and either killed for skin and meat production or captured and sent to farms. The plan proposes an increase in community awareness about living near crocodiles, more traps and annual surveys of the Adelaide River, which runs for 100 miles through the Northern Territory and is home to thousands of crocodiles.

Briony's grandfather, Winston Anspach, said that he supported the culling. He told the Northern Territory News: “You can't have wild animals like that walking up the main street but that seems to be the views of our so-called experts when they say this is their territory and we should learn to live with crocodiles. We shoot kangaroos and emus and they are on our coat of arms, so why not do it to our crocs?”

Others oppose the plan. “Fair enough a young girl got eaten by a croc not far from Darwin, but I don't see a reason for shooting every croc in the radius around Darwin,” Matt Wright, a crocodile-catcher, told The Times. “If you are going to live in the Northern Territory or Queensland you've got to expect crocs.”

Peter “Salty” Saltmarsh, a tour operator, said that he supported the proposal, even if it affected his Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruises. “So long as it's the Government doing it, it's a good thing,” Mr Saltmarsh said, adding that he had spotted five crocodiles near the offices of his tour company in Darwin earlier

According to local experts, the crocodile population in the Northern Territory has increased, with an estimated 80,000 living in Top End waterways.

Two weeks ago a large saltwater crocodile was reported to have stalked a woman who was walking her dog at Casuarina Beach in Darwin.

A spokesman for Peter Garrett, the Environment Minister, said that the plan would be reviewed next month.

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