Scores of concerned people rang Queensland state Families Department crisis hotline late Friday after a news bulletin featured a segment showing Irwin feeding dead chicken to the four-metre (13-foot) crocodile while clutching the month-old baby, Bob, in his other arm.

The incident occurred during a packed show at the Irwins' Australia Zoo reptile park at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast.

His wife Terri looked on as Irwin told the crowd: "He's a one-month-old so it's about time Bob got out there and did his first croc demo."

Minister for Families Judy Spence said she believed the incident exposed the child to danger and set a bad example to parents.

"I've seen the footage and while I have no doubt the Irwins love their children very much, I believe it was an error of judgement to place a baby in a potentially dangerous situation," she said.

"We are concerned that people involved in public entertainment provide proper safety guards for children."

The matter would be investigated by the department which wanted to examine all available information, including seeking a copy of the unedited video and the safety precautions and protocol Irwin was following, she said.

Local police also gave Irwin a dressing-down after receiving numerous complaints from the public about the stunt, but said he had not committed any offence and would not be charged.

Irwin defended his action, claiming it was good parenting to teach children about crocodile danger when he was "completely in control".

Irwin, flanked by wife Terri, daughter Bindi and his father Bob Irwin, told a news conference at his zoo that he was deeply hurt by allegations of child neglect.

"I am as hurt as I get," he said. "But it's all about perceived danger ... I was in complete control. People say, 'well what if you had fallen?'

"But for that to take place a meteorite would have had to come out of the sky and hit Australia at 6.6 on the Richter scale like in Iran.

"Bindi is very croc-savvy and we live in crocodile territory so they (the children) have to be croc-savvy."

Irwin said he lost his mother in a car accident and was well aware of how easily accidents can happen. "Every time I put my children in my car I am scared because my wife and I have no control over the traffic," he said.

Terri told reporters it was a parent's duty to educate children against the dangers of tropical life and had to be taught the dangers of crocodiles.

International television news programs compared the incident to Michael Jackson's dangling of his infant son from a fourth-floor hotel balcony in Berlin two years ago.

TERRA.WIRE