A crocodile farm in Thailand has culled 125 of its reptiles over fears they could escape during the country’s ongoing floods and endanger the population, its owner said Wednesday.
“The rain eroded the walls of the farm and we unfortunately had to kill the 125 crocodiles” that we have been breeding “for 17 years,” Natthapak Khumkad, a breeder in Lamphun province, confirmed to AFP.
The breeder said he and his employees electrocuted his Siamese crocodiles to prevent them from escaping and wandering the countryside, free to attack villagers and livestock.
Photos posted on his Facebook account show a digger removing the reptiles’ remains from their enclosure.
The Siamese crocodile, which can grow up to three metres in length, is a species endemic to Southeast Asia and is critically endangered in the wild. However, it is still farmed for its skin in Thailand.
The breeder said he contacted authorities to place his reptiles in a temporary shelter until the floods subsided, but his request was rejected because the animals were too large.
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