Crocodiles still on the lose after bungled demolition

Two crocodiles are still unaccounted for after escaping from a crocodile farm in Jiangsu province that was forcefully demolished on July 31, according to police.

The farm in Xuzhou had 16 Nile crocodiles, six of which escaped during the demolition. Four were later found.

A policeman from the Huohua police station said on condition of anonymity that two of the animals were still at large as of Tuesday.

Animal experts said the species is among the most dangerous of its kind and is responsible for several hundred human deaths every year worldwide.

The two crocodiles, eat more than 2 kilograms of meat daily, are around 2.5 meters long and ferocious, according to the farm manager, who asked to be identified only be his surname, Fan.

"They'll attack people if they feel threatened," said Fan. "This place is surrounded by cornfields and villages, where people work on the farms and kids play around. The consequences of an attack can be terrible."

Local authorities demolished the crocodile farm in Shizhuang village at night, and six crocodiles escaped, said Fan.

"I've brought four back from the drainage ditches and cornfields nearby with my colleagues," he said.

According to Fan, the authorities did not inform him of the planned demolition, which flattened several buildings and damaged the walls of several crocodile pools.

The 16 animals were imported from Thailand, and most of them are 3 years old. One was killed by falling bricks during the demolition, said Fan.

Jiangsu Television showed nine crocodiles amid the wreckage of the farm on Tuesday.

Fan said that the day after the demolition, he plugged the damaged pools with bricks and rocks, then reported the demolition to police, who marked the area with warning tape.

In 2010, forestry authorities gave the crocodile farm a permit for breeding wild animals, according to Fan, who has invested more than 2 million yuan ($327,000) in the business.

Huohua sub-district officials declined to make any comment to China Daily about the reasons for the demolition.

"The auxiliary buildings in the crocodile farm were illegal and were removed, in accordance with the law. The crocodile pool was deep, and we didn't believe the crocodiles would run out," Jiangsu Television quoted an unnamed official from the sub-district as saying.

"The demolition was done at night because we were too busy during the day," the unnamed official explained.

Some legal experts said it remains to be seen who should take responsibility for any injuries or deaths caused by the missing crocodiles.

"If there's evidence to show that the demolition was conducted according to the law and that the crocodile farm had not set things straight by the deadline given by the demolition authority, the farm manager should be responsible for any accidents," said Jiang Wei, an attorney at Shanghai Wanlian Law Firm.