MIAMI HERALD (Florida) 02 April 08 Nuisance gators end up on the menu (Erika Beras, Jennifer Mooney Piedra And Walter Michot)
Used to be, you blocked a busy road and you got a ticket. Now they turn you into a handbag or back scratcher.
The nine-foot alligator that was cornered and captured Tuesday morning after a traffic-stopping appearance at U.S. 441 and Bailey Road was sold to a processing facility for $280.
His meat will be breaded and deep-fried, his hide transformed into designer shoes and wallets and his bones used to make soap, said Brian Wood, owner of All American Gator Products.
The alligator wandered onto the road at about 7:15 a.m. Construction workers spotted the reptile and called 911, bringing a small swarm of deputies. They surrounded the animal as traffic was reduced to one lane.
''This is the Broward Sheriff's Office,'' a deputy barked into a bullhorn. ``Get back into the canal!''
No reaction from the gator.
The deputy continued: ``Move back! Move back!''
Nothing.
Eventually it meandered about 100 feet or so, migrating from traffic lanes to the sidewalk.
Kevin Garvey, the county's on-call, independently contracted nuisance alligator trapper, was contacted.
Sam Berrey and Ron Stark of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stepped into the breach, using a snare-like device to collar the reptile, which rolled repeatedly to try to wriggle free.
They taped its snout shut and hoisted it into a pickup truck. Garvey, who got to the gator roundup at the end, still got to keep the $280 bounty.
And then, it was off to the plant. That's what happens to large nuisance gators, said commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferrero.
Every part of the gator will be used in some way, Wood said. Its feet, for example, can be turned into a back scratcher and sold for $3.75. Its teeth will be turned into $4.50 earrings.
Its meat will be served at two Dania Beach restaurants -- Islamorada Fish Company and Rustic Inn Crabhouse.
The fried alligator at the Rustic Inn is a $9.50 appetizer served with mustard sauce.
It's one of the restaurant's most popular menu items, General Manager Michael Diascro said.
''For people who come in from out of town and want to try something different, it's a favorite,'' he said. ``It's phenomenal.''
The alligator's skin is processed for about six months before it is sold to luxury vendors such as Prada, Gucci and Hermes.
The skin off Tuesday's wayward gator will fetch about $1,500, said Francisco Garcia, who handles paperwork at Hallandale Beach-based All American.
The plant processes roughly 2,000 alligators a year, although only about 100 of those are ''nuisance'' alligators.
Nuisance alligators are defined by the state as those that are a threat to the public's welfare or pets, livestock or property.
Sitting in the middle of a busy road at rush hour also qualifies.
Nuisance gators end up on the menu