» Site Navigation |
|
|
|
» Quick Moderation |
|
|
|
» Recent Threads |
Who's this?
Today 12:57 AM
Today 01:15 AM
9 Replies, 10 Views
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just born!
Yesterday 01:10 AM
Today 12:54 AM
10 Replies, 84 Views
|
|
» Ads |
|
|
 |
|
04-25-2007, 12:16 PM
|
 |
I am an RTB Addict !
|
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: North Georgia
Posts: 1,386
Thanks: 119
Thanked 65 Times in 46 Posts
Points: 2,759.41
Bank: 15,445,626.13
Total Points: 15,448,385.53
Donate
Rep Power: 240
|
|
|
Tampa man caught butchering alligator on front lawn 'needed a new belt'
Tampa man caught butchering alligator on front lawn 'needed a new belt': South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Associated Press
Posted April 24 2007, 10:03 AM EDT
TAMPA -- A man who was arrested for butchering an alligator on his front lawn says he only wanted a new belt.
Benjamin Hodges, 35, says he found the dead alligator floating in the Hillsborough River on Sunday and took it home in a shopping cart. He figures it was 4 feet or 5 feet long.
Just as Hodges flopped the carcass on the ground and started to cut it open, the police showed up and arrested him. An anonymous caller had reported him to the state wildlife agency, which contacted Tampa officers for assistance.
He is charged with killing or possessing an alligator, both of which are illegal in Florida. It's a felony punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Hodges said he knew of a man at a flea market who might be able to craft a belt for him.
"I didn't think there was anything illegal about skinning a dead gator,'' he told The Tampa Tribune. He is free on a $2,000 bond.
The American alligator is protected in Florida as a species of special concern, and hunting is tightly controlled. Only state-licensed trappers can kill alligators out of season.
As for dead alligators, officials recommend letting turtles or crabs dispose of them naturally.
|
04-25-2007, 12:49 PM
|
 |
(Insert Catchy Phrase)
|
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NW Arkansas
Posts: 6,920
Thanks: 434
Thanked 422 Times in 327 Posts
Points: 8,471.33
Bank: 2,353,499.45
Total Points: 2,361,970.78
Donate
Rep Power: 848
|
|
|
Re: Tampa man caught butchering alligator on front lawn 'needed a new belt'
WOW! Wonder if it REALLY was dead when he found it?
|
04-25-2007, 01:01 PM
|
 |
Regular RTB User
|
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 201
Thanks: 33
Thanked 33 Times in 32 Posts
Points: 586.77
Bank: 3,355.19
Total Points: 3,941.96
Donate
Rep Power: 0
|
|
|
Re: Tampa man caught butchering alligator on front lawn 'needed a new belt'
either way, if it was dead or not its still pretty disturbing...  |
04-25-2007, 01:16 PM
|
 |
Regular RTB User
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 123
Thanks: 5
Thanked 24 Times in 22 Posts
Points: 110,787.22
Bank: 0.00
Total Points: 110,787.22
Donate
Rep Power: 253
|
|
|
Re: Tampa man caught butchering alligator on front lawn 'needed a new belt'
The fact that he went above and beyond to get it home with a shopping cart makes you have to wonder about his mentallity.
|
04-25-2007, 01:40 PM
|
 |
That's a lot of Bull....
|
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Jackson, Tn.
Posts: 607
Thanks: 10
Thanked 18 Times in 13 Posts
Points: 10,340.37
Bank: 0.00
Total Points: 10,340.37
Donate
Rep Power: 74
|
|
|
Re: Tampa man caught butchering alligator on front lawn 'needed a new belt'
HAHAHA you're right...What an idiot.
|
04-25-2007, 01:41 PM
|
 |
Banana Hammock
|
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,872
Thanks: 605
Thanked 746 Times in 515 Posts
Points: 4,244.32
Bank: 3,943,799,182.08
Total Points: 3,943,803,426.40
Donate
Rep Power: 3855
|
|
|
Re: Tampa man caught butchering alligator on front lawn 'needed a new belt'
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayFischerHerps
The fact that he went above and beyond to get it home with a shopping cart makes you have to wonder about his mentallity.
|
How else are you going to get it home? lol.
Now if he was going to eat it, that would make you wonder.
|
04-25-2007, 01:50 PM
|
|
(Insert Catchy Phrase)
|
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NW Arkansas
Posts: 6,920
Thanks: 434
Thanked 422 Times in 327 Posts
Points: 8,471.33
Bank: 2,353,499.45
Total Points: 2,361,970.78
Donate
Rep Power: 848
|
|
|
Re: Tampa man caught butchering alligator on front lawn 'needed a new belt'
Not really, I know a lot of people that find dead turtles and save the shells, or rattlesnakes that have died, and they keep the rattles, deer heads from dead deer, etc.
I've taken feathers & talons from dead owls, hawks and falcons that have been roadkilled.
The only issue is knowing what the law is. In this case, apparently it wasnt permitting.
However then you get your guys that go out and kill the animals, and leave them for a day or so and return claiming they "found it dead".
|
04-25-2007, 02:13 PM
|
|
Regular RTB User
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 123
Thanks: 5
Thanked 24 Times in 22 Posts
Points: 110,787.22
Bank: 0.00
Total Points: 110,787.22
Donate
Rep Power: 253
| | |
