The Civil Administration has executed the elimination of the crocodile farm near Petzael in the Jordan Valley. In an operation carried out on Sunday, 262 crocodiles were shot and killed.
According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the decision followed urgent veterinary assessments citing severe neglect and insufficient access to food. The reptiles, some of which had begun cannibalizing one another—many missing limbs—had also repeatedly escaped the confines of the farm, reaching nearby communities, thereby heightening the risk to public safety.
Originally established in the 1990s as a tourist attraction, the Petzael farm declined following waves of violence in the region. Later attempts to turn the site into a commercial venture for crocodile skin and meat failed after a 2012 Israeli law defined crocodiles as a protected species, prohibiting such trade.
Efforts to export the crocodiles abroad—including plans to transfer them to Cyprus—were unsuccessful. Over time, the animals began reproducing, exacerbating concerns from local officials who warned the population could surge into the thousands.
The site, which had long been abandoned, increasingly attracted unsupervised visitors. Broken fences allowed the public to access the area freely, with some approaching the crocodiles for photographs, often with children. "People simply enter without any control," said one visitor in a recent Mako article. "There is no one managing the site, and it feels completely abandoned. It's genuinely frightening."
There have been previous escape incidents, including one in which 70 crocodiles fled and were only recaptured after an intensive three-day search. Local authorities expressed fears that even one crocodile reaching the Jordan River could result in a cross-border incident.
Despite intermittent police efforts to deter visitors, the lack of continuous oversight allowed the site to become an unregulated and dangerous attraction. Reserve soldiers and local residents described the location as a ticking time bomb.
The farm, though privately owned, fell under the jurisdiction of the Civil Administration. Following expert recommendations and repeated failures to find alternative solutions, the Administration proceeded with the culling operation to eliminate the threat posed by the animals.
Animal rights organization Let the Animals Live condemned the operation, stating: "This was a violent and cruel killing of animals that violates every moral standard. Approximately 1,000 Nile crocodiles—a species protected under the international CITES agreement, to which Israel is a signatory—were raised at the farm. This action blatantly breaches Israel’s international commitments to protect endangered species and violates the Animal Welfare Law. An immediate investigation must be launched to determine who issued and who approved the order."