Aussie croc meat bound for Chinese kitchens - abc.net.au

4 June 2011

Australian crocodile farmers are hoping to sink their teeth into a new export market: China.

To most crocodile farmers, the meat of the reptile is considered a mere by-product of the skin, a much more valuable commodity.

But now, a visiting Chinese trade delegation could change those attitudes.

The group, representing 20 of the country's top seafood importers, are hoping they will be able to convince the Chinese government to sign a crocodile meat-export agreement with Australia.

Guangzhou City Haitong Food Company chairman Jacky Li has seen for himself the process of getting crocodile from pond to plate, and has relished the opportunity.

"We tasted many crocodiles. Almost every meal we've had crocodile but particularly last night we had a crocodile meal in a Chinese restaurant and the cooking method is really good and most suitable for us Chinese," he said.

The Chinese also use crocodile limbs to make medicinal soups. It is used as a treatment for a range of ailments including asthma, the common cold, and is also believed to promote longevity.

"In China, we believe after we have crocodile it is very good to help strengthen our immune system and also to build up our strength," Mr Jacky said.

John Lever, from Koorana Crocodile Farm in central Queensland, says he has been working towards the goal for more than a decade.

"The industry is growing, we're producing more crocodile meat now than we ever have, and that in itself means if we don't open up new markets now, we're going to end up flooding the market here in Australia and prices will go down," he said.

Producers are also pushing for an export agreement with European Union countries, but it is the Chinese appetite for exotic meats that has croc farmers in a frenzy.

"We're all enthusiastic as hell about this because it would mean so much to us to get this market open. It means we've got a guaranteed market for the meat," Mr Lever said.

Crocodile is already on the menu in China. The country gets 60 per cent of its crocodile meat from domestic farms. The other 40 per cent is crocodile imported from Thailand and Vietnam, with alligator imported from the United States.

Australian Chinese General Chamber of Business vice chairman Chiu-Hing Chan says Chinese consumers regard Australian meat as a high quality, natural product.

"A lot of Chinese don't really trust crocodiles coming from Thailand and Vietnam because of the black market; because they're not sure about wether even the crocodile meats being sold over there are crocodile meats in the first place," he said.

The protocol agreement is the last hurdle before crocodile meat trade can begin between the two countries, but until then the visiting importers are happy to get their fill while they can.

"Tastes really good, like chicken meat - lovely!" Chinese trade delegate Chi Kim Wong said, while tucking into a meal.

Do alligators really live in New York sewers? - msnbc.msn.com

4 June 2011

Sewers are dark, dangerous, and scary places. There's lots of nasty stuff down there, from rats to garbage and, well, sewage. But what about the infamous colonies of alligators?

A 3 1/2- to 4-foot American Alligator swims along the North branch of the Chicago River, Monday, Aug. 23, 2010, in Chicago. The alligator was the second to be sighted in the area that month. On Aug. 6, 2010 a 2-1/2 foot alligator was captured nearby.

That claim has been around for decades, and you've probably heard some version of tale that started it, in which a young boy gets a baby alligator for his birthday and flushes it down the toilet, not knowing what else to do about it. Years later, as the story goes, that same boy reaches into a sewer grate for a lost baseball, and his arm is ripped off by his former pet, now monstrous and ravenous for blood.

According to folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand in his "Encyclopedia of Urban Legends," (2001, ABC-CLIO) the story is widely known and has appeared in many forms, including TV shows and horror films.

Indeed, "queries about the sewergator rumors regularly arrive at the offices of the New York City Bureau of Sewers and are routinely denied.... [One source for the story is] Robert Daley's 1959 book 'The World Beneath the City' which included an interview with a man claiming to have been sewer commissioner in the 1930s when a campaign was mounted to clean all the gators out of the sewer system."

This seemed like solid evidence that, even if alligators no longer lurk in the city's sewers, they did at one time — and were enough of a menace that the city initiated a program to eradicate them. However, Brunvand notes, further investigation revealed that the man "had never been commissioner, and, in fact, had delighted in spinning outrageous yarns."

Trumping all myths, however, is the fact that alligators wouldn't survive long in sewers. In a 1982 interview with The New York Times, sewer bureau spokesman John T. Flaherty said, "I could cite you many cogent, logical reasons why the sewer system is not a fit habitat for an alligator. But suffice it to say that, in the 28 years I have been in the sewer game, neither I nor any of the thousands of men who have worked to build, maintain or repair the sewer system has ever seen one, and a 10-foot, 800-pound alligator would be hard to miss."

Still, New York City is a big place, and known for its strangeness. Some people have exotic pets, and it's possible that there are one or more doomed, miserable baby alligators somewhere. But finding (or putting) an alligator in a New York City sewer does not mean that decades of stories about giant alligators in sewers are true.

Chuck Wicks Tells WYRK About Bagging a 700-Pound Alligator - tasteofcountry.com

3 June 2011

If you think Chuck Wicks is nervous about sharing the stage with Josh Turner and other country stars in front of 20,000 screaming music fans at Buffalo, N.Y.’s WYRK Taste of Country concert tonight, June 3, well, let’s just say he’s slayed bigger dragons this week. And we mean that almost literally, because Wicks shot and felled a 700-pound alligator just two days ago.

Wicks told the full story to WYRK’s Wendy Lynn in an exclusive interview during soundcheck preparations for the big show tonight: “I was 45 miles north of Gainesville [Florida], on my first gator hunt, with the outdoor channel. Somehow, I ran across a 12 foot, 700-pound alligator and I shot it with my bow.”

Although he’s a noted deer hunter, Wicks seems to humbly credit beginner’s luck for some part of his big catch. “It was really cool to have that, and to have it on film,” he admits. “When a gator guide says you got the gator of a lifetime, you should be proud.”

Wicks also says that if he could have written any song in country history, it would be Dolly Parton's ‘I Will Always Love You,’ partially for the checks and partially because it’s so good. And, because as a childhood baseball player he always loved playing in baseball stadiums such as Buffalo’s Coca Cola Field.

Which brings us back to tonight’s big show. In addition to Turner, who spoke to WYRK earlier in the day, Easton Corbin, Chris Young and Josh Thompson — who also chatted with the station, will all perform under what’s expected to be beautiful skies and temperatures. A few tickets are still available, check out the station’s official website for all the details.

Alligator kills dog at PGA National - www.upi.com

3 June 2011

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla., June 3 (UPI) -- Wildlife authorities said an 8-foot alligator that attacked and killed a dog at the PGA National Golf Club in Florida was removed and euthanized.

Gabriella Ferraro, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the dog, which weighed approximately 80 pounds, was killed Thursday at the Palm Beach Gardens golf course and authorities do not know whether the canine was on a leash at the time, The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported Friday.

Ferraro said a trapper captured and euthanized the alligator.

The spokeswoman urged pet owners to be cautious around bodies of water.

"This is the time of the year when alligators are the most active," she added. "They are searching for mates and food sources."

Two alligators spotted in a holiday park in Norfolk - travel.aol.co.uk

3 June 2011

You might want to stay away from the water if you're on holiday in Norfolk, because a holidaymaker claims to have spotted two alligators lurking in a lake at Waveney Valley Lakes holiday park in Wortwell.

Worried visitors are now staying away from the fishing lakes, but so far police have failed to find the snappy pair.

Park manager Dave Potter told The Sun: 'It has caused quite a stir.

'We have 90 plots for caravans and lodges, so there are a lot of people here.

'The police had a good look around but didn't find anything.'

However, alligator expert Dr Laura Brandt said it was possible they had been released and found their way to the water – which means there really could be alligators on the loose.

She said: 'They will eat anything that moves.'

Alligators, which are native to the US and china, can weigh up to 800 pounds and can grow to more than 13 feet long. Their average lifespan is 50 years.

The Waveney Valley Lakes holiday park is about 50 miles north of London and has been a popular fishery since 1960 when thousands of carp, tench and bream were introduced to the lakes.

The park prides itself on being a 'natural haven for wildlife' - although we're pretty sure that alligators aren't especially welcome.

U.S. police shoot fake alligator - news.yahoo.com

3 June 2011

KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters Life!) – Police in a suburb in the state of Missouri recently encountered one tough alligator -- or so they thought.

Officers in Independence, a Kansas City suburb, responded to a call on a Saturday evening about a large alligator lurking on the embankment of a pond, police spokesman Tom Gentry said Thursday.

An officer called a state conservation agent, who advised him to shoot the alligator because there was little that conservation officials could do at that time, Gentry said.

As instructed an officer shot the alligator, not once but twice, but both times the bullets bounced off -- because the alligator was made of cement.

The property owner told police later that he placed the ornamental gator by the pond to keep children away. But residents had little to fear.

"There are no alligators around here, we are too far north, it's too cold," said Bill Graham, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Gentry acknowledged the incident is drawing a lot of attention.

"In hindsight, it's humorous," he said. "But we have to take every call seriously."