Croc catchers: Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department staff capture the Shan Pui River crocodile using a snare. In the past few months, they had tried a falling trap, lotus traps, cages and pitfalls.

The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department spent about $300,000 in its attempts to capture the Shan Pui River crocodile since it was first spotted on November 3, 2003.

The Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Stephen Ip (in the absence of the Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works), said in a written reply to the Legislative Council that, since crocodiles were endangered species protected under the Animals & Plants Ordinance, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department had tried various measures to capture the crocodile alive. 

About two-thirds of the money was spent making cage traps, snares, pit-falls and nets, and setting up temporary outdoor camping facilities for the crocodile experts from Panyu. The rest was used to hire two security guards for 24-hour surveillance of the crocodile and the facilities since November.

Two local commercial newspaper companies covered the costs of having an Australian expert and the Mainland experts come to Hong Kong to try tocapture the crocodile last year, he said. 

The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department was mainly responsible for providing supporting manpower and supplies, and was not required to pay any extra costs.