Richard Nixie of DeBary, Florida was arrested on Sunday after being accused of killing 5 small alligators which were less than 5 feet long. Nixie admitted to the officers at the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that he used the alligators' tails to prepare a Super Bowl dinner.
Alligators, which are considered as having a threatened population, are protected under federal law. According to the commission, hunting an alligator can be legal only when there's a permit issued and when it is done during the harvest seasons.
"No one should have possession of a Florida alligator unless they are a state nuisance-alligator trapper," said Greg Workman, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "It's not just a free-for-all."
In Florida, it is illegal for a person to kill an alligator when he doesn't have a trapping license and a harvesting tag. Nixie had been charged with possession of alligators and taking them without having a proper tag. He was briefly locked up in the Volusia County jail and was released after paying a $500 bail.
The annual Super Bowl is like a national holiday in the U.S. Each year, it brings together millions of Americans who would have viewing parties and prepare a lot of snack food and alcohol.
The game on Sunday had set a viewing record of 114.4 million, making it the most watched show in the U.S.' TV history. Unfortunately for Nixie, he had to miss the show because he got arrested a few hours before it started.
By average, an adult female alligator reaches up to 8.3 feet long while the male has an average length of 11.2 feet. The hunting season in Florida for alligators is in the fall. During this time, state officials hold a drawing for permits that would allow the animals to be harvested in some parts of the state. These places have licensed facilities for processing alligators as food.
Records show that 30-year old Nixie had a number of arrest records prior to the incident on Sunday. These include cases on armed burglary, felony weapon possession and misdemeanor drug possession. He was also jailed in the past for three years on charges of trafficking stolen property and armed burglary in Florida's Seminole County.
