Evaluation of code of practice for Australian crocodile farms. A draft of the code of practice was sent by the Australian Government to CSG for comment and evaluation. Grahame Webb explained that the Australian government required development of such codes for all primary industries and that he had drafted the present code to be as widely flexible as possible to encompass the full range of activities with crocodiles in Australia from legal aboriginal subsistence hunting to ranching, farming and public exhibition. The Executive Officer was asked to provide copies of the draft code upon request and to coordinate a response to Australia by mid-July. Use of funds generated by sale of confiscated crocodilian material to support conservation action.
Current examples are Paraguay, Uruguay and Belgium.
It was also suggested that the matter could receive additional discussion at the CSG Regional Meeting in Mexico in August. Further to your inquiry and our preliminary response on the question of how to best manage the application of funds raised from the sale of confiscated crocodilian materials, particularly in reference to the proposed auction of Caiman skins in Belgium. We initiated discussion among the South American members of our Steering Committee and the matter was discussed before our full Steering Committee on 10 June 1997. I can now offer the following general expansion of our earlier response. We confirm in principle that we agree funds raised by the sale of crocodilian materials confiscated by competent authorities and disposed of by legal means should be applied to the conservation of crocodilians and their habitats.