Alligators were legally hunted for the first time in Loxahatchee, Florida in an effort to control populations of the animals. A total of 11 hunters were selected for permits allowing them to take two animals each from the area. More than 1,200 people applied for the temporary permits.
The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida staged a protest, attended by around a dozen people, on the evening of 15 August, as the handful of hunters entered the park. Night time hunting was required, to keep reptile hunters away from casual hunters and other visitors to the wildlife refuge. Hunting advocates and local police also gathered at the gates as they were opened.
Alligator hunting has been permitted from time-to-time across the Sunshine State since 1988 to bring growing populations under control.
Hunters are require to capture or snare the wild reptiles, then kill the animals using a bangstick. This device fires shotgun pellets or a bullet into the brain, killing the creature.
"There won't be any people out there shooting with pistols or rifles," Rolf Olson, a refuge official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said.
The Loxahatchee wildlife refuge is one of the last areas in the state where alligators were not hunted, driving much of the backlash from environmentalists.
Florida required each in-state hunter to pay $272, while sportsmen from other areas paid $1,022.
"Refuges should be places where animals are protected from harm and not hunted for fun or profit," Nick Atwood, campaign coordinator for the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, told the press.
The animal rights activist claims bangsticks often do not kill the animals instantly, but can leave them suffering for long periods of time before they succumb to injuries.
Alligator populations in the Loxahatchee have been estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000 animals. Olsen told the press the removal of fewer than two dozen individuals from a population that size will have a limited affect on the animals in the 143,000-acre refuge.
"The largest gators in the state of Florida live right there. So I would love the opportunity to go hunt them," Robert Arrington, an alligator hunter from Jupiter, Florida, told the press.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is describing the hunt as a success story for the animals, and a requirement of a national wildlife refuge.
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was an avid hunter who frequently took game in wildlife refuges.
"We don't want to get into that particular situation where we have an abundance of alligators. That wouldn't be good for the general public," Amanda Phillips, Florida Fish and Wildlife Officer, told the press.
