After 23 years of bliss, Swedish crocodiles must move or die

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Hillary and Castro, two crocodiles that have lived in Stockholm's Skansen zoo for the past 23 years, will have to be moved or put to sleep under new animal protection regulations.

The two reptiles have spent nearly a quarter of a century in their 44 square-metre (144 square feet) enclave, with only 26 square metres of water to wallow in. That is not enough, say new animal welfare rules that call for crocodiles to have at least 40 square metres of water to splash around in.

The Swedish Animal Protection Agency has, according to the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, refused to exempt Skansen from the new regulation, which came into effect last year, and after two court challenges the zoo is being forced to find a solution to its crocs' housing problem.

"I think it's crazy to put down such rare animals if they are happy," Jonas Wahlstroem, head of the Skansen Aquarium, told the paper.

Skansen had requested dispensation from the new regulations, insisting that Hillary and Castro were happier on land than in the water -- something of which, the zoo claimed, the pair's active sex-life was proof positive.

The crocodile couple have over the years produced numerous offspring that have been sent on to zoos abroad.

The Animal Protection Agency, however, has refused to budge.

"Our regulations are what they are, and there are rules as to how much water is needed," legal council to the agency Anders Gustavsson told Dagens Nyheter.

Other European zoos could accommodate the pair, but none offer as much space as Skansen. Only the United States could provide the crocs with larger living quarters.

But there is a snag. Before emigrating to Sweden in 1981, Hillary and Castro were sent as a gift to the Soviet Union by Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro himself, according to Dagens Nyheter.

Since the crocodiles are still considered Cuban "citizens", they would not be permitted to enter the United States.

Skansen has appealed in commercial court for permission to keep the crocs in Stockholm.