China court auctions hundreds of live crocodiles

While the auction has attracted immense attention online, the court is yet to receive a bid for the crocodiles.

The Guangdong Hongyi Crocodile Industry Company failed to meet its financial obligations, leading to a confiscation of the assets of the company including approximately 100 tonnes of live crocodiles, according to a report by South China Morning Post.

The organisation founded by Mo Junrong, dubbed the 'Crocodile God', had a registered wealth of $7 million.

In an attempt to liquidate the financial assets of the company, a Chinese court has decided to auction off the hundreds of live crocodiles it seized. The sale requires the buyer to pick up the crocodiles in person and has attracted widespread public attention for its large scale, logistical challenges and bizarreness. The decision has also sparked amusement on social media. “It is so scary. I wonder who will buy them?” a user commented.

The starting bid at the online auction is stated to be 4 million Yuan ($550,000) and requires the buyer to pick up the reptiles themselves, the report said. The auction notice also mandates that buyers must hold an artificial breeding licence for aquatic wildlife under the crocodile category and must have the necessary capabilities to handle the large consignment of crocodiles, it added.

If the buyer fails to meet the aforementioned criteria, the court will retain the 300,000 yuan ($41,000) downpayment as a penalty for defaulting. Over 4,000 people have visited the auction page, which is being hosted on the Alibaba Judicial Auction Platform, yet no one has registered to participate in the auction.

This is the court’s third attempt at trying to auction off the crocodiles. In January and February, the court held 2 auctions with the starting price of 5 million yuan and 4 million yuan, respectively.

Although the auction received a lacklustre response so far, crocodiles are a highly profitable animal due to their use in more than 100 products, ranging from leather and meat to health tonics. Siamese crocodiles, which are the species on sale, are included in China’s list of wild animals that can be commercially farmed and traded according to a legislation from 2003. The crocodiles weigh between 200 kg and 500 kg, so a 100 tonne consignment would estimate between 200 and 500 individual reptiles.

The auction also draws attention to the accusation of waste of judicial resources due to the repeated failed attempts at auctioning the crocodiles. Last september, a court in China auctioned off a bottle of Sprite owned by a bankrupt millionaire for 4.2 Yuan (57 US cents), sparking debates of the waste of judicial resources.