A woman whose freshwater crocodile has been stolen fears he may have ended up on a dinner plate.

The 70-centimetre-long reptile was taken last weekend from its purpose-built enclosure at the woman's home at Snowtown in the mid-north of South Australia.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 6 minutes 29 seconds 6 m Lorraine Samuels talks to ABC Radio's Ann Jones about her stolen pet crocodile Pinocchio ( ABC Radio ) Download 3 MB

Owner Lorraine Samuels says Pinocchio was a much-loved pet.

"He was a cute guy, we really miss him and we're so worried about what's happened to him," she said.

"My worst fear is that someone has eaten him because crocodile meat has become a delicacy.

"I'd like to think that he's gone to someone who's aware of the situation and that he's being adequately provided for. I hope it's someone that really really loves crocodiles that's taken him."

Ms Samuels says she was distressed when she found the empty enclosure.

"I searched high and low, I pulled all the weeds out of his pond to make sure that he wasn't hiding," she said.

"He's gone ... and now we've just got an empty enclosure sitting there. It's very sad."

Police have appealed to anyone with information about the break-in and theft to come forward.