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SABAH is considering legalising crocodile hunting following a rise in deadly human–crocodile encounters, a move most notably raised by Mohd Ismail Ayob, who argued in the State Assembly for controlled culling – even without permits in critical situations – to protect riverine communities.

The urgency is not abstract. In 2025 alone, Sabah recorded 11 deaths and several serious injuries linked to crocodile attacks, while longer-term data suggests around 70 attacks between 2001 and 2020, with incidents increasing in recent years. For communities living along rivers such as the Kinabatangan, the threat is immediate, visible, and deeply personal.

Against this backdrop, legalising crocodile hunting appears decisive. But whether it is effective – or sustainable – is a far more complex question.

The Case for Legalising Hunting

There is a reason the proposal resonates. Reducing crocodile numbers seems like a direct way to reduce attacks. For communities that depend on rivers for fishing, transport, and daily living, the logic is difficult to dismiss. Legalisation could also formalise existing practices – bringing hunting under regulation rather than leaving it in a grey area – and potentially generate economic value through crocodile products.

There is also a psychological dimension. After a series of fatal incidents, public confidence matters. A policy that signals action can restore a sense of control.

In the short term, targeted removal – especially of large, aggressive individuals – can reduce immediate risk. This is one of the strongest arguments in favour of loosening restrictions.

The Case Against: A Symptom, Not the Cause Yet the central weakness of the proposal lies in what it does not address.

Sabah’s crocodile population is estimated at around 2,500 individuals, and while encounters have increased, the drivers are widely understood: habitat loss, declining natural prey, and expanding human activity along river systems.

Hunting does not resolve these pressures. Removing individual crocodiles may create temporary relief, but it does not prevent others from moving into the same territory. Over time, the risk returns. What appears to be a solution risks becoming a cycle – one that treats the outcome without altering the conditions that produce it.

Lessons from History: When Hunting Went Too Far

If this debate feels familiar, it is because history offers sobering precedents.

The story of the Passenger pigeon is perhaps one of the most striking. Once numbering in the billions across North America, it was hunted extensively – both commercially and legally – until it vanished entirely by the early 20th century. At the time, its abundance created the illusion that it could never disappear.

A similar trajectory unfolded with the American bison. Tens of millions once roamed the plains, but systematic hunting in the 19th century reduced the population to near extinction. What followed was not just the loss of a species, but the collapse of entire ecosystems and the livelihoods that depended on them.

Even on islands, the pattern repeats. The Dodo, driven to extinction in the 17th century, became an enduring symbol of how quickly human activity – including hunting – can erase a species that once seemed secure. These cases differ in scale and context from Sabah’s crocodiles. 

But they share a common thread: the belief that wildlife populations are resilient enough to withstand sustained human pressure – until they are not.

Legalisation does not automatically lead to extinction. But history shows that once killing becomes normalised, and once economic or social incentives align, the boundary between control and overexploitation can erode faster than expected.

The Hidden Costs: Ecology, Enforcement, Ethics

Legalisation also carries risks that extend beyond immediate safety. From an enforcement standpoint, expanding legal hunting can blur the line between authorised and illegal killing, particularly when wildlife trade already operates in the background. Regulation becomes more complex, not less. Ecologically, crocodiles are apex predators that help regulate river ecosystems. Their removal – especially if not tightly controlled – can disrupt biodiversity and alter ecological balance in ways that are difficult to reverse.

There is also an ethical dimension. Much of the current conflict stems from human-driven environmental change. Legalising widespread hunting raises a difficult question: are we resolving the conflict, or shifting its burden entirely onto wildlife?

A Different Approach: Precision Over Broad Policy

None of this suggests that action should be delayed. The urgency is real.

But evidence points towards more targeted strategies. Sabah already issues limited hunting licences (around 25 annually) and has implemented monitoring, early warning systems, and community awareness programmes. These approaches focus on specific problem crocodiles, rather than broad population reduction.

Long-term solutions – restoring habitats, rebuilding prey populations, and managing how communities interact with river environments – address the root causes of the conflict.

They are slower, but they are also more sustainable.

Weighing the Balance

The advantages of legalising crocodile hunting are immediate:

• Reduced short-term risk
• Public reassurance
• Visible action

But the disadvantages are deeper and more enduring:

• Failure to address root causes
• Ecological disruption
• Enforcement challenges
• Ethical concerns
• Historical risk of overexploitation

The pattern is clear: short-term gains, long-term uncertainty.

What Would Steve Irwin Say?

The late Steve Irwin, a beloved TV personality and animal advocate, spent his life working with crocodiles – animals he respected precisely because of their power.

He never denied the danger they posed. But he consistently argued that wildlife conflict is usually a consequence of human expansion, not animal aggression.

His approach emphasised understanding, coexistence, and targeted intervention – not broad, reactive measures. He accepted that dangerous individuals may need to be removed. But he warned against treating wildlife as expendable in response to problems humans helped create.

Beyond the Illusion of Control

Legalising crocodile hunting may feel like control. But history suggests that control, when applied too broadly or too quickly, can become something else – a gradual erosion of balance that only becomes visible when it is too late. Sabah’s challenge is not simply to act, but to act with foresight.

Because the real measure of success will not be how many crocodiles are removed today, but whether the state avoids repeating a pattern that has played out before – where urgency led to action, and action, over time, led to loss.

Audrey is a senior Editor

The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: Forum@dailyexpress.com.my