Florida opens application for statewide alligator hunt

EVERGLADES CITY, Fla. (WINK) — Florida opened applications for its annual gator hunt, drawing interest and opposition from people across the state.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is accepting applications through May 18. More than 15,000 people apply for a license, FWC said, but only about 7,000 people actually get one.

People who get a license will receive an area-specific permit and two tags, FWC said. Those tags are valid for two alligators.

Dusty Crum is more of a snake guy. The Everglades City hunter is well-known for chasing invasive pythons through the swamp barefoot. But he won’t pass up the opportunity to grab a gator.

"I'm gonna get some gator tags, but it might be their get-outta-jail-free card,” Crum said. “Because I ain't gonna kill him. I might just go take a picture with him and say, what's up?”

Crum said Florida doesn’t allow hunters to shoot alligators with a gun. Instead, you have to use a bang stick. It’s a weapon that fires a round, like a shotgun shell, upon contact with the animal.

Not everyone is a fan of the hunt. Chris Gillette operates a gator sanctuary outside Gainesville. Bellowing Acres provides a “forever home” to rehabilitated alligators that cannot legally by released, according to its website. Gillette, a wildlife biologist, said gators are beautiful animals that deserve respect.

"And although the hunts are done, I would say they're done about the best way they could,” Gillette said. "They do have scientists that analyze the population. They have a limited number of people out there actually doing it. It's highly regulated.”

Gillette argues that urban sprawl is invading the gator's home. He said people should try to co-exist with nature, not hunt it.

This is where Crum and Gillette start to agree. Crum said Gators are on his side in the fight against invasive snakes. And being in the Everglades helps him feel connected with God.

"It is breathing the clean air and hearing the birds. And there's no noise pollution,” Crum said. "There's no light pollution that you can see the stars cleanly.”

The state alligator hunt runs from August 15 through Nov. 1. You can apply online or in person by presenting a worksheet to an FWC license agent or the tax collector's office.