Vicki ‘the Croc Lady’ Could Have Her Crocs Taken Away

Vicki Lowing lives in Melbourne’s western suburbs with her self-proclaimed “family” of five crocodiles. Maybe you know this story from when VICE was invited into the home of Vicki “the Croc Lady”. At the time, we watched Vicki feeding, breeding, and caring for her crocs, while trying to fund a bigger enclosure for Jilly—her large saltwater crocodile—in order to keep up with wildlife regulations.

But that was nine months ago. The enclosure is now finished, and Vicki now has a raft of more serious problems to contend with—namely: the fact that the Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning (DELWP) has suspended her license, accused her of failing to satisfy safety regulations, and threatened to take away her crocodiles.

VICE called Vicki to get her side of the story, and see how she’s going with everything.

“Not good at all,” she says, straight away. “I’ve had a license to keep wildlife for 38 consecutive years and in three states… Then this year—well, it started with Jilly’s enclosure. That got completed and I no sooner got her in it than the Department slammed me with everything.”

Vicki explains that once she’d met the Department’s demands for Jilly to have a larger enclosure—on a pension, no less, and after two years of work—she was hit with four more regulation breaches.

“They reckon the premises isn’t secure enough—which is bullshit—the enclosures aren’t up to scratch—which is bullshit… They won’t accept that these animals are my “pets”, for want of a better word—I don’t like saying pets, but they are my family—they claim they’re just demonstration animals. And they say I haven’t got enough knowledge to look after them, even though I’ve been playing around with them since 1979.”

DELWP have performed five inspections of Vicki’s property this year alone. Towards the end of June, two days before her license to keep the animals was automatically renewed, she was issued with a notice informing her that it’d been suspended. She was told she’d be able to keep her crocodiles on a permit for a certain amount of time—until December, she thinks, although she’s not sure—while the Department reviewed her renewal. Then, on September 27th, she was told that it’d been refused.

“I just don’t know why they’re coming down so heavily on me when my animals are in 100 percent health and the enclosures, as far as I’m concerned, are more than suitable—bigger areas than what others are kept in at other places. And as for not having knowledge, well that’s bullshit, and I’ve got a zoologist who can back me up on that. I’ve consulted with a lot of specialists around the world and they’ve consulted with me.

“The Department's saying I’m not complying to their regulations, but as far as I’m concerned I am.”

Vicki’s now put in an application to have the decision reviewed at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), and is waiting to hear back on a date. She admits, though, that she can’t go it alone.

“I’ve never been to court, and they would just walk all over me, so I’m looking at getting legal help,” she says. “I’ve contacted a barrister for VCAT, and he said it could go to the Supreme Court. As far as money goes, I’m on a pension: I’ll have to sell my house to pay the legal costs. I won’t have a choice.”

She’d be more than willing to do it, too. Vicki doesn’t want to lose her animals, but she also doesn’t want them to lose her. She and Jilly, her oldest croc, have been together for 23 years. Jilly would “fret and die” if she was moved anywhere else, Vicki says.

“I don’t want to see them locked up behind bars when they’ve had freedom around here. I don’t have my animals to just show off, or exhibit, or even to use for educational purposes—I have them because I love them.

“These animals, they’re my life. If I lose them, then it won’t be good for me.”

VICE approached DELWP for a comment. They refused, citing privacy obligations.