Horizon Research Pty Ltd, trading as the Centre for Crocodile Research, is dedicated to responding to the needs of, and delivering quality outcomes for, the global crocodilian industry using effective and sustainable strategies by ensuring the ethical, economic and conservational commitments that underpin the industry are met to benefit both Mother Nature and Humankind.
An unexpected path led Centre for Crocodile Research founder, Associate Professor Sally Isberg, into crocodiles. This emerging industry exuded potential and doing some work experience soon led to a PhD project in crocodile genetics.
Recognizing her unique skills, Sally was immediately recruited by Darwin Crocodile Farm as their Chief Scientist to develop and implement improvements to production efficiency, health, welfare and skin quality.
Since then, through a series of industry and personal changes including two children, Sally formed the Centre for Crocodile Research. The company primarily consults to the crocodilian industry and is regarded internationally for developing relationships with government and university institutions to produce crocodilians more ethically, economically and sustainably.
Sally’s passion for crocodiles and their conservation extends further than production though. She volunteers heavily for the IUCN-SSC Crocodile Specialist Group and is on the Steering Committee as the Chair of the Red List Authority assessing global crocodilian extinction risks. In this capacity, Sally is undergoing a journey to better understand the challenges of crocodile conservation globally, including human-crocodile conflict which poses the greatest risk to conservation efforts. Of utmost importance is the opportunity for indigenous communities to sustainable and ethically use wildlife to allow equal opportunities for humanity.
The Centre for Crocodile Research operates under a Northern Territory Government licence to use premises for teaching or research involving animals (licence number 061; expiry December 2023) and all employees are required to have a current animal ethics training certificate issued by Charles Darwin University. A/Prof Isberg is a member of the Universities Federation of Animal Welfare (UFAW), International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology (ISWE) and the Animal Welfare Research Network (AWRN). Sally was also certified as a Trainer and Assessor in 2022 by the Australian Institute of Management (Cert IV TAE).