Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
The Philippines is home to two species of crocodiles. Both remain “critically endangered” and need to be protected, according to Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), a line agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
In a news feature published in “Business Mirror,” Lim said that only the saltwater crocodile (known in the science world as “Crocodylus porosus”) is allowed for commercial production.
As for the freshwater crocodile (“Crocodylus mindorensis”), trading it is strictly prohibited by law. The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species listed it as “critically endangered,” which means it is in very high risk of extinction.
“While the government is promoting crocodile farming, these giant reptiles continue to face the threat of extinction,” wrote Jonathan L. Mayuga, author of the news feature, who quoted Lim.
While saltwater crocodile can be raised commercially, it is still listed under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix I. As such, trade in specimens of the species is still subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival.
Mayuga quoted Lim as saying that crocodile farming is good business. “She said the Philippines has the potential of becoming a major supplier of crocodile skins. In fact, some farms have started to export crocodile skins as early as 2010 even at a small volume,” Mayuga reported.
Unfortunately, farmers who raised crocodiles are still having hard time when it comes to producing quality crocodile skins.
“Our farmers in Kapulong, Davao City, Tarlac and Rizal have been successfully breeding crocodiles in captivity. The species has been historically recorded to occur in most parts of the country, thus, crocodile farming may work anywhere else in the country. However, establishment of crocodile farms in areas that experience flooding during rainy season is not advised,” Lim was quoted as saying.
The mere thought of a crocodile makes some people shudder with fear and revulsion. A rumor about the presence of a crocodile in a river is enough to make people shun the area. After all, they are dangerous creatures, especially during the mating period.
According to the BMB, crocodiles actually have no any wilful inclination and intention to attack humans. In fact, there are many wildlife sanctuaries in the country wherein crocodiles live peacefully together with human beings.
It is only when human beings try to disturb the habitat the crocodiles are living in that they attack people. With the current population of 100 million and the land area being constant, there is no way people won’t claim those areas currently being inhabited by crocodiles.
“Crocodiles are being hunted down and killed,” deplored one environmentalist. “Unless we do something to save them from vanishing in our waters, they will soon be extinct. We may only see them in national parks or museums and not in their natural habitat.”
“Roughly a quarter of the world’s 23 crocodilian species is either threatened or virtually extinct in the wild,” deplores the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Crocodile Specialist Group. “Before new populations of Philippine crocodiles were discovered on the island of Luzon in 1999, none had been spotted in the wild for years.”
While most Filipinos fear crocodiles in the past, such is not the case today. Some businessmen found out a few years ago that there’s money in crocodiles. “Growing global demand for croc-patterned luxuries has turned commercial crocodile farming into a profitable industry – with more than $200 million in annual international sales of skins alone,” reports the IUCN Crocodile Specialist Group. “The high-end leather goods produced from crocodiles earn ten times that amount in retail sales.”
Aside from the skin, other parts of the reptile have monetary value. The oil, derived from its flesh, has also a big market. It is widely used as stabilizer for perfumes and cosmetics.
Crocodile meat, which tastes like chicken meat if properly cooked, can be canned for export to some European countries. In the United States, people are eating dishes like crocojambalaya, ‘gator steak, and croco-spiced Cajun.
The meat also commands a good price in some Asian countries, especially those having large populations of ethnic Chinese people. They considered crocodile meat a delicacy. In Thailand, dry crocodile meat costs about US$120 per kilogram.
Due to uncontrolled hunting of crocodiles for their valuable hides and other parts and the continued destruction of their natural habitat by human beings, the population of crocodiles in the Philippines dwindled. In 1982, the population of crocodiles was about 500 to 1,000 heads. No current data is available.
The best way to save crocodiles in the Philippines from extinction is by raising them just like other animals. As an enterprise, crocodile farming doesn’t break any laws. Farms are legally allowed to operate, as well as to sell skins and meat from their stocks.
“Crocodile farming was introduced to prevent the further decline of the crocodile population in the wild,” said Lim. “With importers of crocodile skin buying from crocodile farms that offer them good-quality skin, hunting in the wild will eventually stop.”
“Going into crocodile farming is not about making profit alone. It is about wildlife conservation,” said Vicente P. Mercado, president of J.K. Mercado & Sons Agricultural Enterprise, which runs the Pag-asa Farms in Pag-asa, Kapalong, Davao del Norte. Pag-asa Farms is one of the six cooperators licensed by the government to operate crocodile farms in the Philippines.
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