SANFORD, Fla. – The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida protested what it called the state’s “cruel alligator hunt” on Sunday afternoon in Seminole County.
The group, also known as ARFF, protested a few days after the opening day of Florida’s alligator hunting season at Cameron Wight Park in Sanford.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida alligator population is estimated at around 1.3 million. The FWC started the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program in 1988 which allows Floridians and non-residents who are at least 18 years old to take up to two alligators per permit.
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Protesters said gators shouldn’t be hunted at all – saying it’s cruel and barbaric to kills these creatures against their will.
“They brutally end this alligator’s life with a gunshot to the back of their head and killing them,” ARFF Coordinator Bryan Wilson said. “Sometimes even that doesn’t kill the alligator. They may be stunned or paralyzed. They were going to have ripped off their body, fully conscious and fully aware of their suffering.”
According to the FWC, there are often more than 15,000 applicants that will apply for approximately 7,000 permits. Florida’s 2024 alligator hunting season started on Aug. 15 and runs through Nov. 1.
Kevin Brotz, a gator hunter said that hunting helps raise money for habitat conservation.
“There’s millions of dollars each year raised by hunters that goes to the conserving conservation areas. They also buy land from the state and the federal government for hunting and all to use,” Brotz said.
Florida allows people to hunt up to two gators per permit.
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