A 19-year-old male suspect was charged with multiple offenses after allegedly breaking into the Darwin Wildlife Park in Darwin, Australia.
9NEWS reported, "A beloved Darwin tourist attraction and reptile education centre was targeted by a brazen thief who unlawfully entered the premises, stole a Holden Rodeo utility and used it to ram through multiple gates."
Jeremy Peckham was found by the Northern Territory Police Strike Force Trident and Dog Operations Unit after causing around $15,000 in damage to the beloved tourist attraction.
The entire incident was captured on the park's CCTV footage and showed Peckham picking up a 65-centimeter crocodile. Luckily for the reptile, it managed to escape but went missing inside the park.
Peckham was also caught running over a family of ducks before fleeing in a stolen vehicle.
Peckham's charges include burglary, four counts of damage to property, and two counts of trespassing. He was also charged with theft and one count of taking/interfering with protected wildlife. On top of that, he was also hit with multiple driving charges.
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This horrible story is yet another example of why vandalism crimes in wildlife sanctuaries and exhibits must be treated as serious offenses with harsh penalties. Acts like these traumatize and endanger wildlife as well as jeopardize the environmental missions of parks like these.
In the case of this Darwin tourist spot, tourism and public support are how it can maintain its operations and mission to educate the public on Australian wildlife. Events like these could result in a loss of public trust and a fear of an incident happening during visiting hours.
Park manager Emily Moyes said, "We are privately run, and tourism is a tough business as hard as it is. This is a huge setback for us."
She added, "[We're] very lucky and fortunate that this particular individual hasn't decided to take the crocodile with him."
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