In this Aug. 6, 2018 photo, crocodiles rest in water at a farm in the Jordan Valley, West Bank. Dusan Vranic/AP

Israel said it culled 200 crocodiles at an abandoned farm on a settlement in the occupied West Bank, reporting the reptiles had resorted to cannibalism and posed a "significant risk" to humans.

The Nile crocodiles "were being kept in an abandoned compound under poor conditions that constitute animal abuse, with insufficient access to food, which had driven them to cannibalistic behavior," said COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.

COGAT said in its statement on Monday that the premises' fencing had deteriorated after the farm was closed in 2013, allowing several crocodiles to escape "into nearby communities and nature reserves."

After the owner's refusal to repair the fence and "12 years of seeking solutions" to the issue, COGAT said "the hazard must be addressed immediately through the humane culling of the animals."

A video that circulated on social media this year showed teenagers throwing stones at the crocodiles, prompting authorities to take action on the issue.

The farm, located in the Israeli settlement of Petzael in the Jordan Valley, was first opened to tourists in the 1990s before being turned into a commercial farm for crocodile skin.

A 2013 law making Nile crocodiles a protected species resulted in the farm's closure.

"I don't want to think of what will happen if a crocodile manages to escape and reaches the Jordan River, and then we'll have an international incident," the head of the local community told The Associated Press in 2018, referencing the border with Jordan about four miles away.

Let the Animals Live, an Israeli animal rights organization, said that 262 crocodiles were culled and denounced the move in a statement, arguing the reptiles "had never attacked anybody."

"The Parks and Nature Authority authorized shooting and killing the crocodiles, just as it does with pigs, dogs, jackals, wolves, various birds, and many other animals in Israel," the group said in a social media post. "This is truly immoral, infuriating and heartbreaking."

Gadi Bitan, the farm's owner for the past 30 years, told Israeli media outlet Ynet that he was not warned of the culling, which he said took place on Sunday.

"It was an execution, plain and simple," Bitan said. "These animals were in good health, well fed, and no serious accident was ever reported."

Source