Experts are sounding alarms regarding the environmental practices of one of Australia’s largest crocodile farms, known for producing high-value luxury handbags. The farm in question has come under intense fire. The levels of E. coli in its irrigation water were alarming, with concentrations almost 500 times higher than national guidelines. Ravi Naidu, an award winning environmental technologist and leader in the emerging field of soil information at the University of Newcastle. It’s an alarming prospect, and with more than 30 years of experience researching agricultural contamination, Dr.
Largest croc farm Down Under commercial breeding that can accommodate 50,000 reptiles As the NT’s unofficial “crocodile king,” Mick Burns, who co-directs this truly amazing community facility, The farm primarily operates as a crocodile skin farm, raising crocodiles to be slaughtered for their skins. These deluxe skins are sewn into designer handbags that retail for up to $50,000.
E. coli Levels Raise Alarm
As per independent environmental monitoring conducted between summer 2021 and summer 2024, the results are nothing short of shocking. The farm’s irrigation water routinely exceeds E. coli standards for safe human consumption. Monthly samples from the 2024-25 period showed E. coli levels that were truly shocking. They exceeded the levels recommended by the Australian and New Zealand guidelines an average of 484 times. Other months even measured concentrations well over 1 billion cfu/100ml.
Ravi Naidu illustrates the grave consequences of elevated E. coli concentrations. He warns that constant irrigation puts groundwater at risk of pollution, too. He continues, “If the same irrigation water is repeatedly applied it can quickly leach into the groundwater.
Groundwater contamination expert Bithin Datta supports Naidu’s worries to the hilt. He points out that the contamination and ecological risks go far beyond the site’s property line. This claim has serious implications for the farm’s effect on the surrounding ecosystems and drinking water sources.
Potential Risks to Water Quality
Naidu describes the routes of exposure and contamination. These practices help avoid scenarios like the one pictured here where soil nutrients and bacteria wash away in surface runoff. Or they can percolate into the underlying aquifer, endangering the safety of both groundwater and surface water.
“The challenge, of course, is that the groundwater is not static; it moves. When it moves, it can carry those potentially toxic pathogens from this site to other receptors as well.” – Ravi Naidu
The impacts from this contamination go beyond environmental justice issues. Finally, Naidu cautions that in the end, these pathogens can make their way into animals raised for food production, and then back to humans.
The 2025 environmental report echoed these concerns, noting: “a potential risk to both groundwater and surface water quality.” Localized groundwater impacts were confirmed by the NT EPA in multiple monitoring bores. They cautioned that the scope of any surface water effect is not yet known due to lack of data.
Regulatory Responses and Recommendations
The NT EPA is encouraging better monitoring and risk assessments for irrigation practices. They’re reacting to our most recent discoveries to improve stewardship. In a statement following news of the order, an agency spokesperson reiterated that regulators are focused on unsafe and high-risk activities. These endeavors are often the biggest environmental risk. They emphasized the need for licenses that are “risk-based and monitoring requirements that are adequate to detect potential impacts and proportionate to the environmental risk.”
Initially, the NT EPA recognized the extent of the risk but classified existing pollution as a low risk to the environment. To defend against the allegations, they claimed that the non-compliance is of low risk because the pollution is entirely within the licensed premises’ borders.
Datta takes a dim view of this kind of assessment, calling for a more modest touch. He explained that “these aquifers are not confined and certainly interact with surface water systems. That means that sometimes even the most localized pollution can have widespread implications.
