Florida state wildlife officials authorized a “flexible alternative” for certain alligator hunters on Thursday, providing them with additional time and a greater variety of hunting locations.
At a meeting in Tallahassee, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved a rule change that established random drawings to distribute annual special-use alligator harvest permits.
A yearly allocation of five to one hundred permits would be made available for the program. The current year’s number has not yet been determined.
Read: FWC Approves New Rule Changes For Hunting And Managed Areas In Florida
Staff members suggested 37 permits for the current year in order to prevent special permit holders from overcrowding the busiest areas.
Steven Hudson, vice chairman of the commission, proposed the maximum number.
“I’m more in favor of giving more opportunities to more hunters,” Hudson said. “We can always back it down.”
Under current rules, hunters are restricted during the season to a single area, known as an alligator management unit, and can only hunt during one of the first four weeks of the season, which runs from Aug. 15 to Nov. 1.
The proposal would allow the special permit winners to hunt throughout the season in any management unit from Aug. 15 through the end of the year. Hunters with special permits would still be limited to two alligators each, the current limit.
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People would be able to submit an unlimited number of applications for chances at the special-use permits. Each application would cost $5.
A one-month application period is slated to begin May 3. Florida has an estimated 1.3 million alligators, according to the commission.
“This option will give our stakeholders an exciting new opportunity to hunt at multiple alligator management units throughout the state,” said FWC Vice Chairman Steven Hudson. “I hope the Commission will continue to expand statewide alligator hunting opportunities.”
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