Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman declared the Nile crocodile a “cultivated wild animal” in a move intended to allow the Israel Prison Service to station crocodiles around prisons, despite opposition from her ministry’s legal adviser and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Ynet reported on Thursday.
Silman issued the declaration to enable National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to establish his proposed “crocodile prison.” Pressure was placed on the Israel Nature and Parks Authority several months ago to allow the National Security Ministry to receive crocodiles from Hamat Gader and position them around prisons holding security prisoners. The program was expected to be piloted at Ketziot Prison.
The Nature and Parks Authority said the proposal was not feasible because such wild animals may be held only for educational, research, and public information purposes.
“We need to protect them, not have them protect us. That is not the spirit of the law,” officials tried to explain to Ben-Gvir and Silman.
In an attempt to obtain approval for the plan, a request was made to declare the Nile crocodile a “cultivated wild animal.” Crocodiles had previously been given that designation to allow them to be raised commercially for their skins.
Legal objections to the crocodile prison plan
In the past, crocodile farming has led to numerous problems, including incidents of crocodiles escaping into the wild and risks to human life. Former environmental protection minister Gilad Erdan ended the practice following a recommendation from the advisory committee of the Nature and Parks Authority’s plenum.
Silman effectively decided to revive a dead letter in the Wildlife Protection Law. In practice, however, she created a new category: a cultivated wild animal kept for security purposes. Her declaration stated that the animals would be held by a security organization, subject to the environmental protection minister’s approval of the security need.
The move therefore goes beyond a regulation and would require primary legislation rather than a ministerial decision.
The Environmental Protection Ministry’s legal adviser, attorney Neta Drori, wrote to Silman last month that there was insufficient professional and factual evidence to proceed as the minister wished. She added that there was no known professional precedent for using crocodiles as a security measure at modern prisons, contrary to the Prison Service’s claim that they had been used for this purpose in the US and South America.
“With regard to the use in the United States, it was noted that this was a short-lived trial that was discontinued. It apparently took place in an area where crocodiles already occur in the wild, and there is therefore no basis for comparison,” Drori wrote.
The ministry’s legal adviser said the Prison Service’s request also required an in-depth examination of animal welfare and public safety concerns.
“Although Prison Service officials said they are aware of and prepared to ensure the animals’ physical welfare, among other things based on their experience with dogs, the organization apparently has no expertise in raising dangerous wild animals such as crocodiles,” she wrote.
Drori also explained that the legal process would require consultation with bodies including the Nature and Parks Authority’s plenum and relevant government officials, as well as publication of the proposal for public comment. This was necessary because professional officials believed crocodile farming posed critical risks.
She concluded her letter with a clear message: “In light of this, our position is that the conditions for a declaration under the law have not been met and that there is a legal impediment to advancing the declaration as requested.”
Silman disregarded legal adviser's position
Silman decided to disregard the legal adviser’s position, arguing that a senior professional official at the Nature and Parks Authority had said the authority did not oppose the Prison Service’s initiative and that an approved framework used in the past already existed.
Several weeks ago, Ben-Gvir and Silman met with the Nature and Parks Authority’s director-general and the Environmental Protection Ministry’s legal adviser and said they wanted crocodiles to be placed around a prison. The legal adviser made clear that this could not be done and that there was no legal authority to approve it, but Silman persisted.
The Nature and Parks Authority’s plenum is expected to convene soon, and the issue will again be raised after Silman bypassed her own ministry’s legal adviser.
“The minister is acting contrary to her own legal adviser, contrary to the legal opinion of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, contrary to the authority’s plenum, and contrary to the law. In other words, there is no legal basis for this,” a professional official said.
Silman had not issued a response at the time of publication.