St. Thomas crocodile sanctuary operator refutes claims by residents

  

The operator of a crocodile sanctuary in St. Thomas is rubbishing claims that reptiles escaped and turned up in the Amity Hall community.

 

Residents of the area raised an alarm after a crocodile sighting and pointed fingers at the six-year-old sanctuary.

 

Lawrence Henriques, head of operation at the Holland Bay Crocodile Sanctuary, says sufficient measures are in place to ensure the reptiles do not interact with humans.

 

But Mr. Henriques says the flooding following the passage of Hurricane Beryl and subsequent Tropical Wave could have resulted in crocodiles being displaced from other areas. 

 

"I am not disputing the fact that a couple of crocodiles have appeared up at Savage Gut because they could be displaced from over the other side of the floodplain and washed down with the heavy waters that came. But I am in total disagreement with a lot of what the residents are saying regarding the picture that was painted about the sanctuary and me putting crocodiles in the community," he asserted. 

 

The sanctuary is located on 2,500 acres and about a mile from the Amity Hall community.