Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman has approved a legal classification to allow the Israel Prison Service to deploy Nile crocodiles around correctional facilities housing security prisoners, despite opposition from her ministry's legal adviser and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
The proposal emerged after the Ministry of National Security pressed the Nature and Parks Authority to permit crocodile transfers from Hamat Gader park for use at prisons, with a pilot program reportedly planned for Ketziot Prison.
The ministry's legal adviser, attorney Neta Drori, objected in a letter to Silman, stating there is no recognized precedent for using crocodiles as a security measure at modern facilities. She noted that a U.S. Experiment with crocodiles "was discontinued" And involved areas where crocodiles naturally occurred, offering no basis for comparison. Drori argued the Prison Service lacks expertise in handling dangerous wild animals and that animal welfare review is required, concluding: "In light of this, our position is that the legal conditions required for such a declaration have not been met, and there is therefore a legal impediment to advancing the declaration as requested."
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority's chief prosecutor, attorney Shay Peretz, similarly found "no sufficient professional basis" For the plan. The authority's professional assessment warned that introducing a "large, dangerous, long-lived and non-native wild animal into a complex operational security system creates a range of significant risks." Dr. Noam Lider, head of the authority's Ecology Department, raised welfare concerns, noting that security needs could outweigh the animals' care requirements over decades of life. The authority also warned that escaped crocodiles could survive in Israeli waterways, prey on native wildlife, and endanger the public.
Previous attempts to designate Nile crocodiles as cultivated animals for commercial skin farming resulted in escapes and public safety concerns, ultimately ended by former Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan.
Despite these objections, Silman moved forward, claiming a senior Nature and Parks Authority official indicated no opposition and that existing legal frameworks already permitted the initiative. She distinguished between failed commercial operations and prison oversight by an agency responsible for preventing terrorist escapes.
Animal welfare organizations jointly opposed the plan, stating: "We strongly oppose the use of animals as a means of guarding and deterrence. Crocodiles are sentient animals with complex needs for space, water, temperature and natural behavior." They referenced mass killings at a Jordan Valley breeding facility and noted that security alternatives exist, including cameras, sensors, electronic fences and guard towers. The groups indicated they are "considering filing a petition with the High Court of Justice over the matter."