The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating after two small alligators were found dead with their tails cut off in Myakka City.
The gators were found near the intersection of Wauchula and Taylor roads. Whoever did this could be charged with a felony.
When Crystal Ingramm was driving into town on Sunday morning, she and her husband spotted two alligators on the side of the road.
“We thought it was just caught in the barb wire fence,” Ingramm recalled.
But when they looked closer, they realized something sinister had happened.
The juvenile gators were dead and their tails were cut right off.
“After looking at them you could tell it was done on purpose and the tails had been cut off,” said Ingramm.
Experts strongly believe they were killed by poachers for their meat.
“That’s where most of the meat is. Most of the edible meat is in the tail,” explained Justin Matthews with Matthews Wildlife Rescue.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is now investigating.
Killing an alligator without a permit is a third degree felony. Whoever did this could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
“What I see is a lot of these people don’t respect wildlife at all,” said Matthews.
Alligator hunting is strictly regulated. The season runs from Aug. 15 to Nov. 1. Only a certain number of permits are distributed, and if you’re lucky enough to get one, you’re only allowed to humanely kill two alligators.
“We don’t want to see any wildlife harmed. Especially when like this, for senseless, no reason,” said Ingramm.
Alligators are a federally protected species, so authorities will not tolerate this kind of criminal activity.
if you have any information on this case, call FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
