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In the past, crocodilians were considered threats
to humans and livestock. They were vermin to
be eliminated. Some species were hunted for
their hides with little effort to conserve them.
Countries that purchased the hides to turn them
into high fashion leather products did not care
that they were being over-exploited in the countries
that produced the hides. Illegal hunting, poaching,
and smuggling was rampant. By 1971, all the
alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gharials
were endangered, threatened, or declining in
numbers. The CSG reversed the decline and endangerment
of two-thirds of the world's crocodilians.
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In
only 25 short years, 16 of the 23 existing species
have been returned to abundance. This level
of conservation success has not been achieved
with primates, not with whales, not with spotted
cats, not with parrots and macaws, nor with
any other major group of wildlife. And the success
continues.
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