While the government is promoting crocodile farming, these giant reptiles continue to face the threat of extinction, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.
Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) said the two known species of crocodiles in the Philippines remain “critically endangered” and need to be protected.
Of the two known species of crocodiles in the country, only the Crocodylus porosus, a saltwater crocodile, is allowed for commercial production, Lim said.
Crocodylus mindorensis, a freshwater crocodile found only in Luzon, particularly on Mindoro Island, is listed as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. As such, trading of the freshwater crocodile is strictly prohibited by law.
Like the freshwater crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, which is being bred and raised in captivity as livestock, remains “critically endangered” or in very high risk of extinction under DENR AO 2004-15, the national list of threatened species.
It is also listed under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix I, which means trade in specimens of the species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival, Lim said.
As such, Lim said that only holders of Wildlife Farm Permit with captive stock of Crocodylus porosus duly registered with the DENR or with parental stock acquired from the government facility, such as the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC), formerly called Crocodile Farming Institute, and other legal sources can trade or export crocodiles. However, she maintained that only progenies of the breeding operation could be exported.
Crocodile farming
Lim said crocodile farming is being supported by the government to promote sustainable utilization of saltwater crocodile through captive breeding. Thus, only captive-bred crocodiles are allowed for commercial-trade purposes to ensure that the wild population of the species is conserved and preserved, while contributing to economic growth.
Crocodile skins are now being exported by some agricultural companies that venture into crocodile farming. Some of these companies are also selling fresh and processed crocodile meat and meat products for human consumption.
The demand for crocodile skin which are used for shoes, belts, bags and other fashion items make crocodile farming a multibillion-dollar industry. The DENR is the agency tasked to manage the crocodiles in the country in accordance with Section 4 of Republic Act (RA) 9147. As such, only the DENR through the concerned regional office can issue a permit, specifically a Wildlife Farm Permit, for the establishment and operation of a crocodile farm for commercial purposes.
“If the farm is intended for public recreation, education and conservation purposes, the applicant must secure a prior permit to operate from the concerned local government unit in accordance with Section 36 of RA 9147 and its implementing rules and regulations or the Joint DENR-DA [Department of Agriculture]-PCSD [Philippine Council for Sustainable Development] Administrative Order 01 of 2004,” Lim said.
The DENR through the BMB, in its capacity as the Philippines’s CITES Management Authority for crocodile and other species, issues CITES permit for the export of meat, hides and other crocodile products.
“We have at least three large-scale crocodile farmers and we shall support any interested and technically and financially qualified applicants to venture into such business, provided that parental stocks shall be taken only from captive population of legitimate facilities and not from the wild,” she said.
The establishment and operation of a crocodile farm for saltwater crocodile is governed by a number of measures, including RA 9147 or the “Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act” or “Wildlife Act”; DENR AO 99-45, or the “Rules and Regulations on the Sale and Farming of Saltwater Crocodile [Crocodylus porosus],” which implementation responsibilities are shared by DENR-BMB and the Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC);
Joint DENR-DA-PCSD AO 01, Series of 2004 (Joint IRR of the Wildlife Act); DENR AO 2004-55, the “DENR Streamlining/Procedural Guidelines Pursuant to the Joint DENR-DA-PCSD Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9147.
Support to crocodile farmers
To boost the crocodile-farming industry, the DENR-BMB through the PWRCC provides a two-week training to the accredited cooperator and its crocodile caretakers.
The training includes crocodile handling, rearing, breeding and maintenance/management in captivity. The DENR also considers the cooperators as priority buyers of captive-bred crocodiles produced at the PWRCC to assist these cooperators in enhancing their production capacity. According to Lim, they are conducting a feasibility study on establishing a national tanning facility for crocodile skins within the next five years, in collaboration with the cooperators.
She said the DENR-BMB also helps link the industry to foreign markers with the help of other government agencies.
She said a certification scheme that would provide more incentives to encourage a sustainable crocodile farming industry would soon be put in place. “Anybody who is interested to engage in commercial breeding of saltwater crocodile must be ready technically and financially.
We can assist in the technical requirements of crocodile farming but the financial aspect would be the farmer’s sole responsibility. They should consult also with any of our cooperators on the profitability of the business before entering into such venture,” she said.
A viable industry
According to Lim, based on the existing status of the crocodile industry in the Philippines, crocodile farming is viable.
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.
Crocodile farmers are still struggling to compete with other countries in 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,” she said.
According to Lim, the farm location must be accessible to water source and veterinary services. Accessibility to poultry/livestock farms as sources of food for the crocodiles is also an advantage.
She said that accessing the suitability of an area for crocodile farming is part of the DENR’s evaluation process. Besides the location of the farm, the capability of the farmer to manage and take care of the crocodiles is a key to successful farming.
Maintaining healthy crocs population
“Crocodiles can be considered as a resource. They contribute to trade and industry, including ecotourism. As such, there is economic incentive to maintain their wild population,” she said. From the ecological perspective, Lim said the crocodile is a keystone species in forest streams and river systems.
“They recycle nutrients between land and aquatic ecosystems, thus, making these ecosystems productive of fish and other animals serving as food for humans.
Their movements clear water surfaces of any litter, thus, making sunrays pass through the elements underneath [sunlight gives energy to living organisms; main factor for plants to undertake photosynthesis] and helps attain natural air circulation.” She added: “Crocodiles as top predator in the marine and freshwater ecosystems keep in check the population of non-palatable fish species and other animals in the lower tropic level.”
“Allowing crocodiles, including other wildlife, to perpetuate as distinct species is the recognition of intrinsic values of all life forms that make up nature regardless of their utility to human society.
This is the new model of how we should regard nonhuman life forms toward achieving sustainable development and nature conservation,” she said.
Image credits: Gregg Yan/Wikimedia Commons