KATC (Lafayette, Louisiana) 16 November 07 Louis at Work - Skinning Alligators (Louis David)
They're scaly, slimy and their teeth are very sharp. But the Sagrera family turns these green skins into green cash at their gator farm south of Abbeville. "My dad was one of the first to start - and we built a family business from there," says Kevin Sagrera. Since 1992, the Vermilion Gator Farm has raised alligators and sold their skin which has been crafted into boots, wallets and watch straps. The gators are harvested when they're a year old. A special machine kills the gators, then they're kept on ice overnight.
Raphael Sagrera taught me how to skin an alligator just like the pros. First - glove up. Then grab a gator and a knife. "Flip him over - cut the feet on this side," was Raphael's first instruction. Small cuts are made around the feet, then you cut up the legs and around the body.
You have to be careful to not puncture the hide. These skins are sold to tanneries in Singapore and Europe for about $120 a piece. During the skinning process you have to cut between the scales. So far we've seperated the skin from the tail so now you just pull with a pair of pliers.
The whole process took me about 20 minutes - a pro can do it in one or two. Remember - almost nothing goes to waste. The skins are salted and shipped overseas, the bodies are picked up by a butcher, and you can find these jaws in souvenir shops across the South.
The alligators are raised in small buildings at the farm, and they're so particular that the same person has to feed them for their entire life. If not, they could get upset and start to attack each other.
The alligaros are harvested from eggs found in the wild. By law, gator farms are required to introduce a certain percentage of their adult gators back into Louisiana swamps and bayous. The Sagreras say this has helped take the alligator off the endangered species list.
Skinning Alligators