crocodile farm in the Czech Republic was going to be transformed into a park that would be open to the public. But when financing for the project didn't work out, the owners came up with an alternative way to make money: slaughter at least half of the farm's 215 Nile crocodiles to sell their skin and meat.
Crocodiles are protected animals throughout the European Union, which means it's illegal to kill them. But the Ministry of Agriculture is drafting a regulation to change that. The ministry claims an allowance for the farmers to slaughter the crocodiles is "necessary," even though it would make the Czech Republic the only country in the EU to allow it.
Eva Hodek, director of the Prague-based Foundation for Protection of Animals, opposes the proposal. She says that butchers are inexperienced in killing crocodiles, so the animals would suffer terribly. Hodek also suspects that slaughtering the animals for their skin and meat was the owners' plan from the start.
It's not just animal advocates who oppose a new regulation -- other crocodile farmers also don't think it should be legal to kill the animals for restaurants and accessories.
Tell the Ministry of Agriculture to keep crocodiles protected and save them from being slaughtered for profit.
