Crocodiles and alligators are farmed in large numbers globally for luxury leather goods. Intensive farming conditions raise serious welfare concerns for these complex reptiles.
Crocodilians kept in barren concrete enclosures with no access to water deep enough to submerge, no thermoregulation options, and forced proximity to competitors experience chronic stress. Research shows they have sophisticated neural architecture capable of experiencing pain and distress. The killing methods used in many facilities - cervical dislocation or a spike to the brain - may not reliably cause immediate loss of consciousness. Welfare standards for farmed crocodilians lag far behind those for other farmed species.