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Crocodile farming

By 1971 crocodile numbers were so low due to hunting that a ban was placed on the export of crocodile products. Crocodiles were protected by being listed in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species). However, by 1986 they were moved to Appendix II, which meant that products from farmed crocodiles could be exported. In 1994 the ban on exports of products from wild crocodiles was also lifted (1).

In 1997 there were 17 crocodile farms in Australia, 8 in the Northern Territory, 7 in Queensland and 2 in Western Australia. They hold an estimated 50,000 crocodiles (2), both the saltwater and freshwater species.

In the Northern Territory and Western Australia, farms have some breeding stock in captivity to produce eggs, but eggs and young crocs are also taken from the wild. In Queensland all eggs and youngsters are produced in captivity. However, farmers are lobbying to be able to collect eggs and juveniles from the wild to reduce the costs of keeping breeding animals (3).

The Queensland Corcodile Industry group noted that most crocodile farms hold less than 3000 animals, but that to be economically sustainable they need to have 7000-10,000 (2).

The young crocodiles are kept in large groups in crowded pens. The Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI) recommends groups of 20-40 animals to reduce fighting for territory (3).

Young crocodiles are sorted in same-sized groups to reduce bullying by larger animals. As the QDPI admits, both the handling/sorting and the bullying, to varying degrees, are stressful:
" While handling and grading operations can be very stressful to the animals, the alternative situation where some individuals are allowed to dominate others in an enclosure may cause greater stress to the less dominant animals " (4).

As in all intensive industries, the intention is to keep as many animals as possible in a given space and to make them grow as fast as possible. Stress is very often part of this process because the animals have not evolved to live in such crowded and cramped conditions.

Crocodiles are susceptible to skin diseases, especially Dermatophilus infections, which not only cause brown spots on the skin, but also lead to the animals becoming weak and emaciated and eventually dying (5).

A large amount of protein is wasted to produce luxury items such as handbags from crocodile skin. Literally hundreds of tonnes of beef, pig, poultry and fish are stored in freezers on farms to feed the crocs. QDPI researchers have now developed pellets that young crocs will accept, to save the cost of freezers (3). Although more convenient, the pellets will no doubt still be high in protein and wasteful of food resources.

The Australian and New Zealand Federation of Animal Societies, a peak animal welfare body, is concerned that there appears to be no national Code of Practice for the welfare of farmed crocodiles. There are apparently no regulations on how much space each crocodile needs, humane slaughter methods, and so on (1).

One study has shown that severing the spinal cord, a method used on many American crocodile farms, is a very cruel method. The researcher gives a grizzly account of the animals' responses to having their spinal cord hacked in two. It took from 1 hour 41 minutes to 1 hour 53 minutes for the crocodiles to lose consciousness, during which time they probably experienced terrible pain. It is more humane to destroy the brain, either with a firearm or a captive bolt pistol (6).

Crocodiles are killed at 3 years of age. Both skins and meat are used, but 80% of the value comes from skins. In 1996, 15,046 skins were exported to be processed into leather goods such as handbags, belts and shoes. In that same year, 52 tonnes of crocodile meat was sold to Australian supermarket chains (3).

The crocodile industry supplies only a small niche market, and it is wasteful and unnecessary.

References