NEWS-PRESS (Fort Myers, Florida) 10 June 07 Do-it-yourself gator disposal? State wildlife panel to consider revising rules for small gators (Kevin Lollar)
Think of the tales you could tell and the videos you could make.
Alligator gets in your pool, and you — that's you, yourself, not a licensed alligator trapper — catch it and dispatch it.
This week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will consider a proposal that would allow homeowners to capture and kill small alligators — less than 4 feet long — on their property.
"We've had quite a bit of input from homeowners looking for flexibility in dealing with alligator issues themselves," said Harry Dutton, coordinator of the state's Alligator Management Program.
Under state law, only recreational hunters with the proper permits or licensed nuisance alligator trappers can kill alligators.
Last year, the state received more than 21,000 nuisance alligator complaints, and licensed trappers removed more than 11,000 alligators — a nuisance alligator is at least 4 feet long and poses a threat to people, pets or property.
Also in 2006, recreational hunters harvested 6,419 alligators, including eight in Lee County.
Under the proposed policy, in an emergency — for example, when a small alligator invades a swimming pool or carport — the homeowner has the choice of capturing and killing it or paying a licensed trapper to remove it.
Before doing either, the homeowner would need to call the FWC's nuisance alligator hotline.
Allowing untrained people to capture alligators doesn't pose a threat to public safety, Dutton said.
"We're talking small alligators, 2, 3 feet," he said. "People who call the hotline are going to be advised of the risks, what to do, what not to do. We're going to have good self-help materials online, should it come to that."
Rob Jess, manager of the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, has handled his share of alligators and agreed small ones are not dangerous.
"A 4-foot alligator is not going to kill anybody, unless you have its mouth open and put it around somebody's neck," he said. "Then it might choke you to death."
But Jess had a problem with the idea of letting ordinary people capture and kill small alligators.
"I think it's an extremely poor idea," he said. "For one thing, what means do people have to euthanize an alligator? Hit it with a shovel?
"Plus, when big bulls get territorial, they displace young gators. So citizens will be out there killing small alligators because they're displaced. I don't think this is a good idea around the board."
Another requirement of the proposal is anyone capturing and killing an alligator won't be able to remove it from his property and must dispose of it on his property.
"We don't want people parading around with alligators," Dutton said. "We don't want Homeowner A taking it to show his buddy down the street."
FWC officials aren't worried people would abuse the proposed rule; for example, a person kills a small alligator in the wild, takes it home and then calls the hotline to report an alligator on his property.
"Alligators less than 4 feet have very little commercial value," Dutton said. "Nobody's going to get rich off this option should it be implemented. For people wanting to kill small alligators for personal use, there's very little product — meat or hide — to make it worth their while."
A new alligator rule would also allow use of small-caliber handguns (.32 caliber or smaller) during alligator hunts; but the guns would only be used to kill alligators when they're attached to a restraining line alongside a boat.
If the FWC adopts the proposal, it could go into effect within six months.
Do-it-yourself gator disposal?