Editorial: Designation of Gators No Longer Fits
Source: TCPalm Newspaper
For years, laws have protected alligators. Now it's time for laws to protect people against alligators.
The alligator is no longer an imperiled species in the Sunshine State. That fact, in and of itself, is reason enough to downgrade the reptile's classification and increase the number of gators that are harvested each year.
In 1967 the alligator was placed on the federal endangered species list. In 1987 the state of Florida changed the reptile's designation to a species of special concern. For the past two decades, state wildlife officials have issued only a few thousand alligator permits each year, thereby restricting the number of gators that are killed. It is against the law in Florida to feed, molest or kill alligators. And homeowners who want to kill a nuisance gator must contact the state's nuisance alligator program, which contracts with a trapper to remove the reptile.
The alligator's designation as a species of special concern served an important purpose: enabling the reptile to rebound from near-extinction and to thrive in our state. Officials estimate there are as many as 2 million gators in Florida today.
However, the success of the alligator has come with a price — for people.
Homeowners increasingly find themselves in close proximity to the reptile. Children and pets —
in particular — who wander too close to the water's edge are especially vulnerable to unprovoked attacks. The deaths of three people —
in separate incidents — to alligators during a one-month span earlier this year illustrate the tenuous relationship that now exists between the reptile and humans.
Florida wildlife officials are currently conducting a broad review of the alligator management program and have proposed possible changes, which include downgrading the reptile's designation, increasing the number of permits that are issued each year and allowing property owners to deal with nuisance alligators on their own.
The latter proposal sounds a bit extreme. Alligators are dangerous creatures, and their removal should be left to the experts. However, it's clear that the gator's success has created a host of problems — problems that will continue to exist as long as alligators and humans live in relative proximity to one another. Nonetheless, the state needs to take a more aggressive posture in managing the alligator population.
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