One solution to the alligator attacks in Florida
The expanding alligator population and dry weather seem to be contributing to the spate of recent alligator attacks. Here is one solution:
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has set an 11-week 2006 alligator hunting season, an increase by six weeks over last year, officials announced Monday.
Hunters also will be able to purchase more than one permit for the hunt set for Aug. 15 through Nov. 1.
Hunters also will be able to purchase more than one permit for the hunt set for Aug. 15 through Nov. 1.
posted by John Lott at 1:22 PM
7 Comments:
*There* ya go ;-) Finally someone started thinking...I was wondering how long it would take for the obvious, sensible solution to emerge...after they finished messing around ticketing people for unequivocal DLP.
How much is an out-of-state hunt permit? (rhetorical ;-)
It's so sad that in this country people have to die in order for the right thing to get done. Whether it be to get gator population under control or even a stop sign at the corner. Why doesn't the government practice prevention of these deaths in the first place? Why wait until 4 or 5 people are dead or crippled? One death is more than enough to do something about an existing problem! I'm tired of animals having more rights than people. The woman that was cited and fined for shooting an alligator that was in her home is a perfect example.
YOUR ALL WRONG!!
THEY AREN'T IN OUR YARDS WERE IN THEIRS, AND THE REASON they attack humans is because they feed them so they should be strung up or jailed. Everyone that comes to Florida knows what lives here... they know there are Gators, snakes and even hurricanes and they keep coming... Why don't they listen and follow directions about, DON'T FEED THE ALLIGATORS! !
So many moving in...... filling in all the wetlands and we cause the problem. The real sick part of this all is that they kill them if they go after someone's pet. How the heck are the suppose to know if it's pet or if its food? Should it ask? Grant it, I don't like seeing anyone hurt, killed or crippled, but how come gators that aren't near people can be sunning on the shore and you go down the river in a boat and wham, they are in the water..... They don't stay around to look. And for anyone the goes swimming in any Florida water that is fresh water and can't see the bottom or what is in it, well they take there life in their hands. Why do you think there are so many pools in Florida? Were doing to the alligator to what men did to the AMERICAN INDIAN. Just push them off their land and take it.
I AM AGAINST THE KILLING OF GATORS, and how do they find the one that did anything when the the lake is full of the same size gator??????
Dear last Anonymous:
I guess the question is whether we have enough alligators. The state of Florida even had to lengthen the length of the hunting season recently because they thought that there were already too large of a population to sustain.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/florida/news-article.aspx?storyid=71899
I understand that you had to lengthen the hunting dates, I keep close eyes on how conservation is watching not only the gators, but the indigo's and Gopher Tortoise. I watch to see if anyone is making these big builders pay to have the big land purchases that contain all of these including the protected rat, and permits are given to subdivide the acres to my their subdivisions and they don't have to do the search to make sure they aren't plowing down the other stuff that is protected, but if I wasn't licensed and picked them out of the piles of dirt that they plowed earlier that day I'd be fined $5,000.
But the gators, the clutch of eggs of a gator maybe, that is maybe 1 may make adulthood. Does anyone really watch to see that each person only takes 2 per license? And is there anything that makes sure that they aren't taking to many females or males out of one place. That is when we have the trouble, mating season when they are looking for a mate, or am I wrong? They are beautiful, they can be trained... And they aren't any different then a bird or anything else. No one is watching to make sure that they have their own spot where in the wild a male could have a few females and if we let them alone and they would've (the males) fought for their territory and they'd be taking their own population out themselves. A male doesn't want another male where he has females. No, I don't think I'm the Croc hunter, but I've been into reptiles for 27 years.
I just don't hear anything good about gators or how they are being monitored when they are being hunted. That is how the loss happened last time. The hunters wanted the big ones. For the hide and meat so there went the males, without them females started to decline. Once again the chain started again.
Just explain to me, now that I know where this is coming from, how do you monitor what someone takes? They said on the news, well, all the numbers aren't in but it looks like 6,000 gators have been hunted. If I was a heartless or greedy hunter and had 2 1/2 months to hunt for the gators and paid 250.00 for a license you think I'm going to take 2? Really think about it, like when Florida re-routed the water in the everglades and we paid our dues for that, and still are. The dumping of the waste out in the gulf, that's taking care of us now. Glad I don't eat fish. Red tide hasn't been so bad.
Building, wetlands and greedy people just wanting to cram houses on top of houses, were even losing the king snakes. Any egg laying snake the red ants get before the snake can suck up the egg yolk. Only snakes that are unlimited are the live breeders. God help us all... Florida and the old septic systems, and all the other stuff are taking out our wildlife.
I wouldn't be writing anonymous but don't want to make a acct and lose it. It's my daughters.
Dear Anonymous:
Thanks for writing back again. Let's say that you are correct that they hunted more alligators than they were allowed to hunt. Don't you think that the alligator counts would show that there are fewer alligators next year and that would mean they will cut back on hunting? What evidence do you have that we are endangered of losing alligators? Everything that I have seen indicates that they are increasing in numbers.
"Greedy" people like to have some space to raise their families. Why is it that their preferences are less important than having even more alligators?
I live in Florida and there are alligators in the pond 50 ft. from my back yard. They are peaceful and I love watching them. I have not seen any on shore but know that they do sun themselves. I also know not to get too close to the water and to watch where I step if I do go down to the waters edge. My neighbors down the road kept saying they were going to go gator hunting at night in my back yard. I told them if they were in my back yard without my permission they would be the hunted. They wanted to do it illegally and I stood my ground. The gators have been here since the age of the dinosaur, we have not, we are on there land and so we need to respect their space.
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