According to a plan approved by the Northern Territory government, local farms that supply leather bags and shoes will become one of Australia's largest raw materials producers.
France's high-end fashion brand Hermes hopes to build Australia's largest crocodile farm in the northern territory, which will house up to 50,000 sea crocodiles and make them into luxury goods such as handbags and shoes.
But the proposal was attacked by animal welfare groups, which say other fashion brands have stopped using exotic animal skins on the grounds of cruelty. Organizers told the Guardian they were concerned about the health of crocodiles and raised animals for luxury goods & quot; are no longer fashionable & quot;.
North Territory is an important global crocodile skin supplier, with several large fashion brands owning crocodile farms.
Mick burns (Mick Burns), a crocodile industry official in the north, is leading a proposal to develop a former fruit farm near darwin that was acquired earlier this year by PRI Farming, a director of the company.
North Territory government has approved the project development and documents show that the farm will include an egg incubator laboratory, a hatchery and growth bar, as well as a wastewater treatment plant and a solar farm.
According to documents submitted to the North Territory Environmental Protection Agency, the farm will employ 30 people and expand from the original 4000 crocodiles to 50,000, which, according to ABC, will make it one of Australia's largest crocodile farms.
EPA's statement to the Guardian said the project had been approved for environmental protection and PRI Farming said it would apply for a wildlife trade permit.
The Royal Australian Society for the Protection of Animals, senior policy officer Dr. Jed Goodfellow (Jed Goodfellow), said the Society remained opposed to killing any animal & quot; if they were death primarily to produce unwanted luxuries such as fur or skin & quot;.
He said the association did not know the details of animal health benefits practices on planned farms.
On average, however, raising crocodiles in intensive conditions poses many health risks, he said ,& quot;. quot; include injuries from close confinement, fencing arrangements for small individuals, and the effects of restraint and slaughter methods
The Australian National Code of Practice for Crocodile Farming & quot; is now more than 10 years old and needs to be reviewed & quot;., he said
Nicola benon (Nicola Beynon) of the international humanitarian association said brands, including chanel (Chanel), mulberry and owners of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, had adopted & quot; animal welfare policies against the use of exotic animal skins such as crocodiles.
quot; consumers and fashion companies are getting out of animal abuse as quickly as possible, quot; she said. & quot; seems foolish to invest in an industry that is no longer fashionable. & quot;
The 2017 report of the Northern Territory's government commissioned Ernst & Young estimates that crocodile farming is worth A $106 million economic the region.
The report says crocodile skin producers & quot; in the North Territory are known for their ethical suppliers and encourage high-end fashion makers such as Hermes and Louis Vuitton to buy local farms in the North Territory to ensure their supply chain & quot;.
The report said crocodile eggs were picked from the wild with permission, and young alligators & quot; were nurtured to minimize stress and protect their skins & quot;.
Reported. & quot; Finally, premium end products, alligator skins, are often used as some of the world's most expensive and popular fashion accessories (handbags, shoes, wallets and wallets) and are worn in the best places in the world, with major markets in the United States and Europe. & quot;
Australian Securities and Investment Commission documents show that the PRI Farming is wholly owned by another Darwin-based company, which is wholly owned by Hermes.
Burns did not respond to a request for comment. The Guardian of Australia sent a question to Hermes headquarters and requested a dialogue with the representative, but no response was received.
The company has three crocodile farms and & quot; two leather processing and inspection sites & quot;. in Australia, according to a Herm è s 2019 corporate social responsibility report
According to the report, all of the company's crocodile farms have signed the best practice charter, and the company has worked throughout the industry to improve animal welfare standards, which have been reviewed by the crocodile team of the International alliance for Nature Conservation.
Hermes has an animal welfare policy that stipulates. quot; Group has defined and implemented a very strict, science-based animal welfare policy. This applies to its direct responsibility, as well as to its external partners, with specific supply chain-based approaches. & quot;
Burns helped the Northern Territory government develop a strategy to expand crocodile farming in the region in 2015.
Australia accounted for 60% of the world's saltwater alligator skin trade in 2015, and the region was responsible for two-thirds of alligator skin trade, the report said.
Professor Weber (Grahame Webb), chairman of the International Panel of Experts on Nature Conservation alliance Crocodile, told the Guardian that crocodile farming helped fund conservation efforts in the region.
Webber says fashion companies have been quot; relentlessly attacked by animal rights activists & quot;, but he says they have a & quot; good story to tell & quot;.
& quot;[ these companies] must exercise increasing control over their supply chains to ensure the highest standards.
quot; Hermes is a very conservative company -- it's what they try to do right. Australia's crocodile management program enjoys a good reputation worldwide. & quot;
The size of Burns's new proposal suggests that it can produce about 15000 crocodile skins a year, Webber said. He says harvesting fish eggs from wild populations is sustainable.
& quot; before introducing rules to protect crocodiles in the early 1970s, Australia's irregular hunting of crocodiles dangerously reduced their numbers, Weber wrote. He said the number of saltwater crocodiles in the wild is healthy and stable.
quot; our wild populations are full, quot; he said.
