PARAGUAYANS HUNT ALLIGATORS ALONG THE ARGENTINE BORDER

Paraguayan peasants club alligators to death in their boat during a daily hunt in General Diaz, 550 kilometers northeast of Asuncion, August 7, 2001. Tens of thousands of alligators, known locally as yacares, were left stranded as their lakes began to dry up more than 10 years ago after Paraguay and Argentina diverted the Pilcomayo River for crop irrigation, without taking into account the environmental impact. The Paraguayan government has authorized the slaughter for meat and hides of thousands of yacares that are expected to die anyway due to the lack of water in what is considered Paraguay's greatest ecological disaster. REUTERS/Jose M. Amarilla