A rare video of wildlife campaigner Steve Irwin that he made to help an Australian police officer establish himself as one of the world's leading child protection experts has resurfaced.
Queensland police officer Jon Rouse, who retired in 2022, was asked to speak at an INTERPOL Specialists Group forum in Lyon, France, in 2005.
To support the “intimidating” speech to the large group of experienced officers from around the world, he asked his buddy The Crocodile Hunter, who was at the height of his fame at the time, to make a short video.
Mr. Rouse said the group didn't know who he was and he thought a good way to set the tone for his speech was to ask someone to introduce him.
“I was lucky enough to know Steve Irwin and reached out to his manager and Steve put together a clip,” Mr. Rouse told Gary Jubelin’s “I Catch Killers” podcast.
Rare footage of crocodile hunter Steve Irwin has emerged, filmed as a favor for a pal
Steve and Teri Irwin gained worldwide fame for their wildlife documentaries and conservation work
The clip shows Irwin in his khakis in front of Australia Zoo, giving speeches in the same enthusiastic style from his television shows.
“I’m dealing with predators, large predators,” Irwin said.
“And these predators need my help, unlike the predators you’re dealing with that need to be eradicated.”
“As parents and on behalf of all parents in the world, we would like to thank you very much.”
“It is a very serious, very heavy issue that you are working on, but at Crikey we really appreciate you doing this.”
“So without further ado I would like to introduce you to a really good mate of mine, a handsome Australian bloke, Jon from the Queensland Police Service, who is in my back yard.
“Woo-hoo, Crocs rule buddy!”
Mr Rouse said the clip was a huge success as Irwin's presence heated up the room and allowed him to network with global child protection experts after his speech.
Highly decorated police officer Jon Rouse used Irwin's clip to network with child protection experts at an international forum
“It brought me into a community that taught me a lot.” It taught me about victim identification. The importance of sharing personal injury cases. I learned so much from this group.
“I was at my last meeting in March. When I retired, I was chairman of the undercover group at INTERPOL. So I went to this meeting for 18 years.'
Mr Rouse is considered one of Australia's leading authorities on child abuse prevention and played an important role in banning child exploitation material.
He forged important links between the Queensland Police Service and international law enforcement agencies and was awarded the Queensland Police Medal and the Australian Police Medal and was the 2019 Queensland Australian of the Year.