Angry mob slaughters nearly 300 crocodiles in revenge attack

In a shocking incident in the Sorong district of the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua, villagers armed with knives, hammers and clubs have slaughtered 292 crocodiles. The animals were slaughtered in a revenge attack after a 48-year-old man died after being attacked by crocodiles.

The man died on Friday and his burial took place on Saturday. The head of Indonesia’s natural resources conservation agency in West Papua, Basar Manullang, said it was thought the victim was picking grass for animal feed when he was attacked. After the burial, the villagers entered the crocodile farm and killed all the crocodiles.

The farm had been granted a licence in 2013 to breed protected saltwater and New Guinea crocodiles for preservation and also to harvest some of them, Manullang said, adding that one of the conditions was that the reptiles did not disturb the community.