The American alligator is a conservation success story in Florida. The Sunshine State has a
healthy and stable alligator population, which is estimated at 1.3 million alligators of every size.
Florida's statewide alligator harvest has been nationally and internationally recognized
as a model program for the sustainable use of a renewable natural resource.
Each year, alligator management units are established with appropriate harvest quotas
to provide recreational opportunities. Harvest quotas are set based on annual population
assessments and management objectives. This training provides tips for safe,
responsible participation in the statewide alligator harvest.
The Guide to Alligator Hunting in Florida is another valuable online tool. Find it
and other resources at MyFWC.com slash Alligator Alligator harvest permits provide two types of
opportunities. One is for a particular county and the other is for a specific harvest unit.
People permitted to take alligators in county-wide harvest units are allowed to hunt alligators in
most public bodies of water in a particular county – except for areas that are already identified as
a specific alligator harvest unit. Public bodies of water can be accessed by public boat landings.
You can find most public boat landings with the FWC’s Public Boat Ramp Finder,
which is located at MyFWC.com slash Boating. With a county-wide permit, you may also hunt
private ponds or lakes within that county, if you have permission from the landowner.
A permit for a specific harvest unit provides the opportunity to hunt alligators only within
the lake, impoundment or section of river indicated on the permit.
For detailed information about where you can and cannot hunt, we recommend you carefully review
the legal description of the area you plan to hunt. It is the hunter’s responsibility
to make sure they are hunting within the legal geographic bounds of their permitted activity.
You can find alligator harvest unit descriptions and maps, showing unit boundaries at
MyFWC.com slash Alligator. Click on the banner for the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program.
Your alligator trapping license and harvest permit come with 2 hide validation
CITES tags and allow for the take of 2 alligators.
Your alligator trapping license also allows you to help other permitted hunters.
Your alligator trapping license, statewide alligator harvest permit, and the two alligator
CITES tags should be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service about six weeks after payment.
When you receive your license and permit package, check the license and make sure your name
and the harvest area and period are correct. In addition, check that both
CITES tag numbers match those listed on the permit. If you notice any discrepancies,
call our Office of License and Permitting as soon as possible at 850-488-3641.
If you do not have an alligator trapping license,
an alligator trapping agent license can be purchased for $52,
regardless of residency. This license allows anyone 16 years old and older to assist in an
alligator hunt when in the presence of someone who has a statewide alligator harvest permit.
Youth ages 15 and younger don’t need a license to assist a permitted hunter.
In addition, those possessing a Florida Resident Persons with
Disabilities Hunting and Fishing License are exempt from the cost
but must still have an alligator trapping agent license to assist a permitted hunter.
The alligator trapping agent license is available at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com,
county tax collectors’ offices, and most retail outlets that sell hunting and fishing supplies.
It’s also available by calling 888-HUNT-FLORIDA.
Other people may accompany a permitted hunter, and they do not need a license as long as they don’t
actively participate in the take of alligators. Take would include assisting with the capture,
restraint, landing or dispatching of the alligator in any way.
For example, holding a bangstick, harpoon, or other alligator harvest equipment can
be considered helping with the take. However, holding a light or driving
the boat are not considered helping in the take and thus can be done without a license.
To be legal to harvest, alligators must be at least 18 inches long,
measured from the tip-of-snout to the tip-of-tail.
The statewide recreational alligator hunting season runs from August 15 to November 1 each
year. Depending on the harvest period you were awarded, you are assigned to hunt one
of the first 4 weeks of the alligator hunting season listed on the screen.
If you don’t harvest both of your alligators during your assigned harvest week,
you may hunt during the open period, which runs from September 12 through November 1.
Alligators may be hunted 24 hours a day on most areas. Hunting hours begin at midnight
on the first day of each harvest period and end at 11:59 p.m. on the last day of each harvest period.
The exceptions are the stormwater treatment areas or STAs and A-1 FEB
where hunting hours are between 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. each day during the harvest period,
except as otherwise provided in the harvest permit.
Please note, if you were awarded an alligator harvest permit for any of the STA harvest units
and A-1 FEB, you are allowed to hunt alligators there only on the weekends.
Always carefully review your harvest permit for details prior to your hunt.
Visit MyFWC.com slash Alligator and click on the Statewide Alligator
Harvest Program for information about specific harvest units.
Scouting is an important part of getting ready for your alligator hunt. If you are scouting
during nonhunting hours or during a day you are not licensed to hunt, you must keep all
alligator hunting equipment disassembled and stowed away  or leave it at home.
You may scout for alligators at any time on most areas, but there are harvest units
with restricted access before, and/or during, the alligator season. For information about specific
harvest units, visit MyFWC.com slash Alligator and click on the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program.
Several alligator hunting gear and equipment vendors are included in the
alligator links page at MyFWC.com slash Alligator.
If you want to hire a guide, you can find one at MyFWC.com slash Outfitters.
Legal methods of take for alligator hunting in Florida include bows, crossbows, airbows, gigs,
harpoons, spears and spearguns. It is important to note that all points used
in any of these methods of take must be attached to a restraining line.
Fishing rods using weighted treble hooks or artificial lures are also legal as well as
hand-line snatch hooks and handheld devices with an adjustable catch loop such as catch poles
Catch-and-release is only allowed when using snatch hooks, catch poles and similar devices
with an adjustable catch loop. Therefore, if you are using any other legal method of take,
only attempt to capture an alligator that you plan to keep.
If you want to use bait, you must wrap it around a wooden peg that is less than 2 inches long.
It is unlawful to use a hook when you are using bait. And you must remain in
contact with the bait by holding onto the other end of the line at all times,
using either a fishing rod or a hand-held line or attaching the line to the permittee’s vessel.
Because alligators are not classified as game animals,
electronic recorded game calls and sounds may be used when hunting alligators.
A bang stick is the only firearm you are allowed to use in Florida to take
an alligator, and it can only be used when an alligator is attached to a restraining line.
Once you have an alligator on the line and alongside your boat, it’s recommended you
use a bang stick to humanely dispatch it. The next step is to slip an adjustable catch loop
over the alligator’s snout and pull it tight so the mouth cannot open. Use a catch pole or
similar device to pull the alligator’s head over the side of the boat. Then take a stick-like
object and push down on the alligator’s snout to further prevent its mouth from being able
to open. Carefully and quickly grab the side of the jaw and apply enough pressure to keep
its mouth completely shut. Then wrap the snout tightly and securely with electrical or duct tape.
With the top of the alligator’s head facing up, use a sharp knife to sever the spinal
cord by cutting across the body between the back of the head and first vertebra.
To ensure the alligator is dead, insert a metal shaft into the brain cavity to pith
and destroy the brain. Only after these steps is it safe to pull the alligator into your boat.
Immediately after the alligator is dead, you must attach your alligator CITES tag
within 6 inches of the tip of its tail. Cut a slit through the tail, slide the tag through the slit
and securely lock the tag. Make sure to pull hard on the tag to confirm it is locked securely. Until
the alligator’s hide is tanned, mounted by a taxidermist or made into alligator products,
the CITES tag must remain in place on the tail.
Alligator hunting can be dangerous, so use appropriate caution during your hunt.
Alligator hunters using a boat must follow Florida boating regulations including using
navigation lights at night and having a wearable life jacket onboard for each person on the vessel.
Because obstructions in the water are harder to see at night and the behavior of restrained
alligators is unpredictable, we recommend everyone wear a properly fitted life jacket.
In the unfortunate event you are bitten by an alligator, seek professional medical
attention right away because even minor bites or scratches can result in serious infection.
It is also important to use caution when handling a bang stick. Bang sticks, like all firearms,
must be pointed in a safe direction at all times. They should be unloaded when not in use.
Within 24 hours of harvesting an alligator and prior to taking it to an alligator processing
facility, you must complete an alligator harvest report form. You have the option of doing it
online at MyFWC.com slash Alligator. Or you may fill out the carbon-copy harvest report form
included in your permit package. Instructions for completing the harvest report form are on
the back of the carbon-copy form. Once completed, mail it to the address on the screen. Please also
note that a copy of this completed form must accompany your alligator hide at all times.
When filling out your alligator harvest report form, you will be asked for information
such as the number on the CITES tag attached to the alligator,
date harvested, county and location, total length, tail girth, and sex.
If you take an alligator that measures 14 feet or greater, please call 352-357-0190
as soon as possible so the FWC can take an official measurement.
Alligator meat can spoil quickly so your alligator should be cooled to below 45
degrees within 4 hours after harvesting it. Until the alligator can be refrigerated,
you can place the alligator on a tarp and line both sides with ice,
ensuring you cover the entire alligator in ice. Then wrap the tarp over the alligator and ice.
You may skin and butcher your harvested alligator yourself or you can take it to
a permitted alligator meat processor. If you plan to sell any of the meat,
you can only legally do so if it was processed by a licensed alligator processing facility.
A listing of permitted alligator meat processors can be found at MyFWC.com slash Alligator.
If you would like to process the alligator yourself, there are several videos on YouTube
that show you how. You are required to label each package of alligator meat with
the CITES tag number and the license holder’s name using permanent ink.
Information on storing and cooking the meat and preserving the hide can be found in the FWC’s
Guide to Alligator Hunting in Florida. In addition,
you can search for recipes at the Fresh From Florida website.
Hides may only be sold to licensed fur and hide dealers, which can be found
at MyFWC.com slash Alligator. You are allowed to give or sell skeletal parts,
including the skull, to anyone. But records must be kept showing who the parts were transferred to.
Remember, after harvesting an alligator or handling raw alligator meat,
you should wash your hands thoroughly with soap or an anti-bacterial solution. And make
sure to thoroughly wash all knives and surfaces with hot, soapy water.
You are required to mail back any unused CITES tags by November 15 to the address on the screen.
Being a safe and responsible hunter is an important way to preserve the future of Florida’s
statewide alligator harvest program. Help ensure alligator hunting continues to be viewed in a
positive light by showing respect to Florida wildlife, other hunters and those who don’t hunt.
When alligator hunting late at night, keep the volume of your voice to a minimum
to avoid disturbing those residents living along the water’s edge. Also,
avoid shining lights at these residences.
Transport harvested alligators discreetly and properly dispose of the carcasses.
Don’t discard carcasses in the water or alongside the road.
Instead, dispose of any unwanted alligator parts in a trash receptacle.
Thank you for doing your part to help build support for hunting in Florida.
If you have any questions about this material or about alligators or alligator hunting in Florida,
visit MyFWC.com slash Alligator or call the FWC’s alligator management program at 352-732-1225.
Good luck, have fun and be safe.