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A rare video wildlife warrior Steve Irwin made to help an Australian police officer establish himself as one of the world’s leading child protection experts has resurfaced.
Jon Rouse, a Queensland police officer, who will retire in 2022, was invited to speak at an INTERPOL Specialist Group forum in Lyon, France in 2005.
To help with the “daunting” speech in front of the large group of highly experienced officers from around the world, he asked his partner The Crocodile Hunter, who at the time was at the peak of his fame, to film a short video.
Rouse said the group didn’t know who he was and thought a good way to set the tone of his speech would be to have someone introduce him.
‘I was lucky enough to meet Steve Irwin and myself.“He contacted his manager and Steve put together a clip,” Rouse told Gary Jubelin’s “I Catch Killers” podcast.
Rare footage has emerged of Croc Hunter Steve Irwin which was filmed as a favor for a mate.
Steve and Teri Irwin achieved worldwide fame for their wildlife documentaries and conservation work.
The clip shows Irwin dressed in khakis in front of Australia Zoo delivering lines in the same familiar, enthusiastic style he did on his TV shows.
“I deal with predators, large apex predators,” Irwin said.
And those predators need my help, unlike the predators you have to deal with that need to be eliminated.
‘As parents, and on behalf of all parents in the world, we would like to thank you very much.
“It’s a very serious, very heavy subject that you’re working on, but by God, we appreciate that you’re doing it.”
‘So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to a very good friend of mine, a nice Australian bloke, Jon, from the Queensland Police Service, who is in my backyard.
‘Woo-hoo, crocodiles rule mate!’
Rouse said the clip was a huge success, as Irwin’s presence defrosted the room and allowed her to network with global child protection experts after her speech.
Highly decorated police officer Jon Rouse used Irwin’s clip to help him network with child protection experts at an international forum.
‘That led me to a community that taught me a lot. He taught me about victim identification. The importance of sharing cases of aggression. I learned a lot from that group.
‘I went to my last meeting in March. I was the president of the INTERPOL undercover group when I retired. So I attended that meeting for 18 years.”
Mr Rouse is recognized as one of Australia’s leading authorities on the prevention of child abuse and played an important role in banning child exploitation material.
He forged crucial links between the Queensland Police Service and international law enforcement agencies and was awarded the Queensland Police Medal, the Australian Police Medal and was the 2019 Queensland Australian of the Year.