Croc Hunter beats M. Jackson Baby balcony incident

[Kyle Barker]

im confused, he must have 2 daughters...???

He showed his kid being born on one of his shows and that was a few years ago....that baby in the pic is way younger. Does he have 2 kids? Or is this some sort of joke?

[Tim and Julie B]

The new baby is Bob

Julie

[dean_h00]

LEAVE THE POOR GUY ALONE
HE MEANS NO HARM OR TROUBLE
EVERYONE DOES STUPID THINGS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE
(if you think it was dumb or not WHO CARES)
JUST GIVE HIM A BREAK
Ha

[Lisa]

you learn fastest when you're younger, what better why to learn then to be with papa... worst thing that happens is father dawrin strikes again. though i do admit, steve should have better secured the little gaffer instead of carrying him like a football.

[daver676]

I'm glad I grew up when I did. These days, kids don't have any fun.

[Sunrunner]

Tom and Julie B I have written many, many possitive posts but this one is off the chart do you even have children? I myself have 4 and I was More Pissed about the way he was HOLDING his child then him taking it out in a pen I DID not say that he did not know what he was doing but you all can NOT sit here and tell me that that 1 month old babie will remember ANY of that it was a unnessessary risk. 2-3 yrs old it might imprint but I highly doubt (though I am no expert) that a one month old babie would have any memory of it.

[Mustangrde1]

I have thought about what his actions have done and after cooling down i formed a letter and sent it to animal planet and discovery channel. I believe if enough people do this it may show Steve that what he is doing is not accepted or acceptable.

if you feel the same i incourage you to write them also or just copy and paste the below if you feel it fits.

To whom it may concern with the Animal Planet and Discovery channels.

In regard to what has occurred regarding Stephen Irwin AKA" The Crocodile Hunter" and his actions with his Infant son. As a keeper of dangerous reptiles myself and as a person who has worked on a limited bases with Crocodilians I find Mr. Irwin's actions Dangerous and Irresponsible.
I feel that I must bring to light that he placed his child in harms way for a publicity stunt to increase profit. At 1 month of age He the infant is by no means a qualified handler of these animals and as it is required in his own country to be permitted Mr. Irwin broke the laws by bringing the child in to the paddock.

His action also affect on the reptile community in a whole as it gives a very bad view on the millions of responsible reptile owners that live in our communities. Do in large part to his actions many people that are not familiar with reptiles or their care and handling see us as person who go out to play with dangerous animals for thrills. This is very untrue as many keepers are highly educated persons that have spent many years learning how to properly care for the reptiles in their charge.

I do believe his actions also reflect upon your business as it appears you condone such actions by continuing to allow him to handle many dangerous reptiles in a manner that is unsafe and dangerous. The ratings you may receive from his actions are not worth it if one person dies from mimicking his actions and receives a venomous bite or is bitten by an alligator. The bad Press that would be generated from such an incident would reflect badly upon your programming and the reptile hobbyist, keepers, sellers.

When allowing him to handle venomous reptiles without proper handling equipment it sends a message to many people that by using your bare hands is the way to handle these creatures. When in fact there are many specialized tools designed for the safe manipulation of these reptiles that place the handler in little or no harm if used correctly. I site other persons you have on your programming such as Jeff Corwin or Mark O'Shea who both use the proper handling equipment.

I believe it is your responsibility to FORCE Mr. Irwin to now use proper handling tools while under your employ, and to refrain from actions that may harm your business or other persons business's. His actions are and do reflect upon your programming and do reflect upon millions of other law abiding and responsible persons.

I appreciate your time in reading this.

Sincerely,
Scott Bice

[Dragons & Balls]

So some of you are saying it is not acceptable for him to do what he did.Who the hell made you God.Unless you are God do not judge anybody.It was totally acceptable to me,so what gives you the right to say it is not acceptable?

[Rebecca]

As much as I hate to say it but animal planet and discovery are most likely being over loaded with other letters. Chances are they won't even read the letters. The best way to promote what you think proper handling is to show people yourself. Also if there is a contract in place they can not FORCE anyone to do anything. Steve knows what he is doing. I don't agree how he was holding the baby and I agree it was part a publicity stunt. But Bob is not our son there for we can not judge how he should be raised. Lots of people were raised like that. Wild animals are a part of life for everyone, so why is it wrong for someone to teach their children to respect them?? Some people are raised with crocs or bears comming right into their backyard when playing, I'd rather know that my child could fend for it's self (kinda) then a cityslicker that knows nothing and gets it's self killed.

[marisa]

A lot of people here are quite the judge and jury. It's too bad that some people cannot accept something that was a simple mistake.

The child could be in mroe danger driving on the highway in a carseat. But you guys don't care about that. You guys only want to burn him at the stake for a simple mistake. Its ridiculous. In a month no one will even remember he did that let alone start killing "dangerous' reptiles or taking their infants to feed crocs. And not to mention the HUGE amount of publiity Steve will get from this. Jus think of all the visitors streaming in to the zoo in hopes of seeing Steve hold a baby. Wow. Real crowd drawer there. Yeah.

Maybe next we should put tiny airbags on pencils so that no one pokes their eye out.

Marisa

[Mustangrde1]

Dragons and Balls you wrote
So some of you are saying it is not acceptable for him to do what he did.Who the hell made you God.Unless you are God do not judge anybody.It was totally acceptable to me,so what gives you the right to say it is not acceptable?

You may want to check out the laws reguarding who and whom may enter a crocadile paddock in Australia. The laws were put inplace to PROTECT person. Steve broke the laws. Probably the exact same laws he enforces on his employee's. Just proving he is above the laws in his eyes.

As to who gives us the right to say what is exceptable. Its called years of working with these animals and understanding the dangers and risk involved with it. Just curious to how much experiance you have with any dangerous reptiles let alone crocs.I am by no meens a crocadillian expert myself but i have worked with them in limited circumstances and seen them do very unpredicatable things. And all it would have took was one brief secound and the baby would be dead. So anyone who has worked with dangerous animals CERTAINLY DOES have the right to say what he did was dangerous, foolish , and irresponcible along with illegal. THAT IS WHAT GIVES US THE RIGHT.

Rebecca:

People do raise their children to respect and to avoid danger but not fear them. Same with guns . However How many do you know actually put them in harms way to show off for PR none i would guess. Yes teaching your children is very important but at an appropriate age. and proper handling is extremely important but ( being handled in front of a croc by your dad ) is not proper handling by a you. As to writing the letters hell ya keep flooding them, They like thier ratings and im sure do not want to loose it and if thier legal dept says to him YOU WILL SHOW PROPER HANDLING you can rest assured he will. Contracts can be changed for purposes of safety and life and limb to cover the producers butts in case of accident.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Sorry folks to upset you all, but I still have no reason to feel that Steve did anything wrong. IMO your thoughts and posts reflect a bit of "culture-shock" and a tad bit of wimpiness. What ever happened to the folks that grew up around nature, without being "kept safe" from harm?

Again, I just think think that our cultures are conditioned to accept some things and to not accept others. Still seems to me that people fail to realize that he has the right to bring his son up as he sees fit. Also, what makes you think that he has any less control over what he does than what you have control over in your life? Seems this world gets to be a bigger baby by the day. Anything not acceptable by modern western society seems to be a shame.

Do you folks not realize that your very own ancectors did this on a regular basis? You are a product of this type of learning. Now you sit back and act as if you are better than that? Get real, grow up and get some balls. Then go pack the family in the wagon for a picnic, roll the damn vehicle and realize the risks you take to enjoy your 'acceptable' lives.

Or maybe your just upset because you have a problem with Irwin, and you find this as your golden oppertunity to shine? Either way, folks need to grow some and not allow yourselves to be conditioned to be blind to your own mistakes and misconceptions.

[Jeff Hathaway]

Well, I think this was a stupid, ill-conceived publicity stunt, but I don't think that the baby was in any significant risk of harm, given the circumstances and the obvious talent Steve has around crocodiles.

I agree that lots of babies are at greater risk on the highway daily, and many are exposed to household dogs and cats which kill a few every year. Life has lots of risks, and it is all a question of degrees. I wouldn't feed a croc like that with or without a baby. I would, however, take an infant out in a canoe with me, which is theoretically (and statistically) fairly risky. As a former canoe instructor, I happen to think it would be pretty low risk. We all have to make these sorts of decisions in life, and I won't second guess Steve for his.

On the other hand, I still think it was unnecessary and stupid.

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!!

[Jmail324]

A child is a responsibility too, and making mistakes is one thing, but putting a 1 month old in an enclosure with a salt water croc is another. There may be plenty of dangers in this world we cannot help, but that does not ok putting a child in a dangerous situation that can be prevented. There was absolutely no reason for doing this besides a publicity stunt, and to risk your own childs life in such an irresponsible way is unacceptable. That 1 month old can in no way comprehend what happened or learn from it, therefore it was pointless. I just cant believe that there are those who dont think it was such a bad idea. I'm not judging him, I just wonder where his common sense was.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Thats what gets me too, just from the other side. Much like Jeff said his part about the canoe, some things are just degrees on what you have been known to be risky or not.

I was taken out since I was an infant on hunting and trapping outings. Who ever says that an infant cannot learn from it is obserd. If anything, this is the prime time to expose the world to your child. Best time for them to learn just about anything and everything. There are kids that play violin better than anyone at the age of 5, kids that can survive better than adults in any given situation. And why? Because they were exposed to certain situations and stimuli since birth, and not strolled around in pretty new clothes, smelling like baby powder in some carriage and displayed to the relatives as a "show and tell" item, something that is shown off as a pretty new addition like your dog or new truck. Sad to see this world so afraid to acclimate their children to anything. No wonder that the common person has no clue on how to survive outdoors, or even cook mac and cheese before the age of 16. No wonder kids cannot read by kindergarden but know what a television is. Makes me sick to see the world so affraid to do anything these days.