Alligator hides skin#

To add value to skins, some farms include fleshing at the stage of short term preservation.

Alligator hides skin#

Preservation is essential as quality of skin reduces substantially in warm conditions where the farms tend to be situated. It is important the skin is of good quality to achieve the highest revenue possible. The main farm income is in crocodile skin for the fashion industry. Skin Processing - the processing of the removed skin involves short and long term preservation, grading and measurement and storage until dispatch.Meat Processing - meat is removed and packaged according to food safety requirements.Chilling - Before skinning the carcass is left in a cold room bleed.Disinfection - According to food-safety guidelines the skin is disinfected.Slaughter - Humane slaughter is carried out by the severing of the spinal cord.They are then sent to abattoirs where skins and meat are removed for sale. Stunning - Once the crocodiles have reached the desired size, the crocodile is stunned with a rod and its eyes are covered to calm it.It is a case of supply and demand if crocodile skin suits are 'in fashion' then crocodile farmers will need to provide the fashion industry will larger skins suitable for such production. The requirements vary depending on what is fashionable at the time, for example, if there is a trend for small handbags then a farm will reduce the growth stage and instigate slaughter earlier as smaller skins are required by the fashion industry. For example, most bags will require a 40 cm belly skin which will require a crocodile of generally 1.5 years old or 1.2 m long. Growth - the crocodiles are grown to certain sizes dependent on what the skin will be used for.Hatching - the eggs are incubated and protected to ensure the highest yield.Collection usually occurs in February and March. Ranching - this is the collection of wild eggs.On a crocodile farm, crocodiles are grown and prepared for slaughter before their skin is removed, treated, and sent to be tanned in specialist tanneries and used in the manufacture of commercial goods. In 2018 this method also became legal in Queensland. Eggs are collected and landowners sell the eggs to local farms to breed. In Northern and Western Australia crocodile farms carry out ranching which includes captive breeding and harvesting of eggs from the wild. Farming Ĭrocodiles are either farmed or wild-caught. Freshwater Crocodile, particularly from New Guinea, is known for its flexibility which allows processors to skive it down to a thinness suitable for clothing whereas Nile crocodile, mostly available across Africa, is durable, making it desirable for heavy-duty items such as footwear and belts.

The value of a skin is dependent on what it will be used for. This makes it more popular than the smaller Caiman skins which, as a more common species, is a cheaper option. As one of the largest crocodile species, the Australian Saltwater Crocodile has a reputation for having the most desirable and high-quality hide. For these products, Freshwater, Saltwater, Nile and Caiman are used because of the superior quality of skin which when tanned has an aesthetic finish. Red Crocodile Kelly Bag Applications and Uses Ĭrocodile skin is primarily used in the production of handbags and other luxury items such as shoes, belts, wallets, upholstery, and furniture. As a material, crocodile leather is rare and expensive because of limited numbers of crocodiles, their relatively small size and the scarcity of dependable farms and tanning facilities to process and prepare the product for market. Crocodile leather is considered a luxury item utilized by high fashion brands such as Hermes, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and Gucci. It is rare compared to other hides such as sheep or cow and requires high levels of craftsmanship to prepare it for use in the consumer industry. Crocodile leather is an exotic leather which as a group, makes up less than 1% of the world's leather production.

Crocodile leather is the processed hide of one of 23 crocodile species in the world.