Our Story

Alli Chic sisters Kathrine and Melissa grew up on Black Bayou Farms in St. Amant, Louisiana where their parents David and Veronica Pritchard were alligator farmers licensed by Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries from 198_ to 199_. During that time, the state and federal governments partnered with local farmers to save the American alligator from the endangered species list.

Improvements in leather manufacturing in the late 1800s correlated with an increase in demand for leather goods, which contributed to aggressive hunting practices that decimated the American alligator population to only 100,000 wild animals. Listing alligators as a protected species only increased their value and encouraged poaching, further threatening the population.

Extensive research on alligator habitat permitted farmers to reproduce optimal living conditions in barns on private property. Following strict practices that were closely monitored by Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, farmers raised enough alligators to save the species and to meet the demand for alligator leathers! Today, there are over 2 million wild alligators in Louisiana swamps, and the Louisiana alligator conservation program is a model for conservation programs throughout the world.