New Delhi:
A farmer in northern Thailand was forced to cull more than 100 crocodiles from his farm as heavy floods raised fears that they could escape and pose a threat to human lives. Natthapak Khumkad, the owner of a crocodile farm in Lamphun, explained that days of relentless rain had severely damaged the enclosures holding his Siamese crocodiles.
With the animals at risk of escaping, he decided to kill 125 crocodiles, which measured up to three meters long. Mr Khumkad was particularly concerned that the reptiles might roam the flooded countryside, potentially attacking locals and animals.
The incident, reported by CNN on Friday, took place in the Lamphun province following devastating monsoon rains that have swept across the region. In September, northern Thailand was hit by intense monsoon rains, which resulted in landslides and floods that killed over 20 people.
“I had to make the most difficult decision of my life to kill them all. My family and I discussed if the wall collapsed the damage to people’s lives would be far bigger than we can control. It would involve people’s lives and public safety,” the farmer told CNN.
In a Facebook post, Natthapak Khumkad showed the eroded walls of the crocodile pond and explained, “This was the primary reason that forced me to make an urgent decision. On that day, it rained heavily non-stop. The underwater wall collapsed, which was very close to reaching the outer wall.”
He clarified that although his staff attempted to block off the area to fix the pond as soon as possible, the unceasing rain made the situation dangerous.
“It was a crisis that required an extremely urgent decision. I had to use the last resort, which was to remove the crocodiles from the farm by slaughtering them. If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, we wouldn’t have used this method. It was the best, fastest, and safest method in that situation, with the rain still pouring incessantly. Thank you for all the encouragement and understanding.,” Natthapak added.
