They have 62 teeth, they’re aggressive and they like to be dominant, but at the same time they’re expected to produce almost flawless skins for the valuable European handbag market.
Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures is situated 40 minutes north of Cairns and has been breeding estuarine or saltwater crocodiles in captivity for longer than anyone else in Australia, and now it has devised breeding pens that minimise the likelihood of skin damage to protect its valuable investment.
The subject of an intellectual property application, the tubs are unable to be photographed or described, but they’re a sign of the importance of a blemish-free existence to its operators, Peter and Angela Freeman.
The park is no stranger to the spotlight, having played a significant role in bringing an end to the shooting of crocodiles in the wild for skins in 1974, and winning numerous awards for its world-renowned eco-tourism attraction, and now the Hartleys are adamant their solitary confinement tubs are of the most ethical design possible.
“We’ve gone through months of discussion with government authorities,” Peter said. “When crocodiles get to 1.4 metres they’re a very solitary animal. They like being warm and being in the pens and eating.”
Situated alongside the world heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest, the farm already does things differently to anywhere else in Australia, planting only locally-native flora, harnessing solar energy and recycling waste water from its restaurant.
The farm produces 2000 eggs a year and its hatchery looks after 1200 hungry animals that are fed a mixture of chicken heads and roo meat.
One of Australia’s smaller skin farms, Hartley’s produces 1000 skins a year, mainly to the major market of France.
A good skin commands a price of around $1000, but Peter Freeman said a lot of food and labour goes into that end result.
“It’s individual personal care,” he said.
Even a pinprick can be too much damage on some scales when skins are carefully inspected on a light table by Japanese and European buyers on the farm.
Damage to one scale can result in a 25 per cent discount and if two scales are damaged, it means a loss of 50 per cent and most of the money invested in raising the crocodile.
A front-of-house tourism experience that incorporates boat tours around a manmade lagoon where its 23 inhabitants are fed to the delight of tourists, as well as a cassowary walk, and a restaurant that features salt and pepper croc on its menu, are now just as important a part of the business.
