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FWC proposal: Homeowners could 'euthanize' small alligators
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Location: Blogs Now We're Talking |
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| Posted by: Joe Byrnes |
5/12/2007 6:29 AM |
Here's an update on proposed changes to Florida's Alligator Management Program - a topic of previous blog entries.
Homeowners will be allowed to kill alligators less than 4 feet long under proposed rule changes that will go before the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at its June 13-14 meeting in Melbourne.
The commission won't approve the new alligator management rules at that time but is expected to give its staff feedback and suggest changes in the proposals, which they'd likely bring back before the board in September.
The draft proposals - to revise management of Florida's alligator population of more than 1 million reptiles - follow an Internet survey and a series of public meetings.
Here are excerpts from the May 11 FWC news release about the proposals:
The first of the proposals would create a statewide recreational harvest permit to replace the old countywide permits. Excluding established harvest units and properties enrolled in the Private Lands Alligator Management Program, this statewide permit would allow the holder to hunt alligators in any of the state's public and private waterbodies, as long as there was legal access. The exception would be waterbodies within incorporated municipalities.
The use of small-caliber handguns (.32 caliber or smaller) also would be allowed during alligator hunts but only for dispatching alligators once they were attached to a restraining line and brought alongside a boat.
Another proposal would create more homeowner options in dealing with alligators less than 4 feet long. In emergency situations where homeowners might find such smaller alligators in their swimming pools or carports, they would have the choice of capturing and euthanizing the reptile themselves or paying a licensed nuisance wildlife trapper to remove it.
In either case, the homeowner first would be required to contact the FWC's nuisance alligator hotline (866-FWC-GATOR) for authorization.
If a homeowner decided to euthanize the alligator, it may not be removed from the property and must be disposed of on the property. If a nuisance wildlife trapper was used, the trapper would be required to relocate the alligator to an area specified by the FWC.
FWC staff drew up these proposals after completing a comprehensive review of its Alligator Management Program and soliciting input from the public and stakeholders who have a strong interest in the way the state's alligators are managed.
"The proposals are consistent with our program's established goals and objectives and offer more flexibility in how we can manage alligators," FWC Alligator Management Program coordinator Harry Dutton said.
For more information on these alligator management draft proposals, visit MyFWC.com/gators.
I asked Dutton what it would mean for a homeowner to "euthanize" an alligator. Those rules haven't been worked out, he said. It would be a method that "renders the alligator unconscious in a humane way. That's what we want to happen."
Those smaller gators are not considered "nuisance alligators" because they're not big enough to cause significant injury. As far as the nuisance gators, the rules aren't changing, he said. |
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