WFTS (Tampa, Florida) 11 July 06 Law-breaker sabotaging gator traps in Tampa
Tampa: People in one Tampa neighborhood are at odds over what to do about a 7-foot alligator.
The 300 lb. gator has been lurking in a pond, frightening neighbors and feeding on ducks for weeks.
Tod Misiunas says he and his pregnant wife were worried because of all the recent news of gator attacks, so they called authorities.
The problem is, every time the trappers set the traps, they are sabotaged.
Monday, Misiunas says he found the meat used in the gator trap in front of his screen door, instead of hanging over the pond.
This morning, that trap was reset again, only to be found later with the pole gone and nothing left but the wire.
He says, "We got a gator problem, now we have a neighborhood problem."
All they can do is set the trap again and hope the third time is the charm.
The trapper is also tired of the wasted efforts of setting the trap up, only for someone to tear it down.
Florida Fish & Wildlife's Gary Morse says it is a misdemeanor to tamper with a gator trap, and falls under the description of criminal mischief.
Law-breaker sabotaging gator traps in Tampa