JAKARTA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Residents in West Papua, Indonesia have slaughtered 292 crocodiles in a breeding farm after a villager was killed by one of the reptiles.
The man was said to be looking for grass for animal feed on the farm's breeding sanctuary when bitten by a crocodile Friday. He was found dead shortly.
After attending the man's funeral Saturday, several hundred local villagers armed with knives, hammers and clubs descended on the farm to take revenge, leading to the brutal death of the crocodiles.
The farm was in fact licensed by the country's Ministry of Environment and Forestry to breed protected saltwater and New Guinea crocodiles with one of the conditions being that the local community is not to be disturbed.
Officials and local police tried to stop the killing yet failed as they were outnumbered. They may now press charges as killing protected animals is a crime punishable by a fine or imprisonment in Indonesia, according to the BBC.
The mass slaughter also violated the law on the destruction of property, said Basar Manullang, head of West Papua Natural Resources Conservation Agency.
A security guard of the farm might be charged with negligence, according to officials.
