FWC announces additional alligator harvesting permits

TAMPA (FOX 13) - An additional 1,313 alligator harvest permits will be available for county-wide units this year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced.

The permits are “in response to updated alligator population management objectives,” the FWC said in a statement. They will become available Tuesday starting at 10 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. 

They can be purchased online at GoOutdoorsFlorida, in-person at a license agent or a county tax collector’s office. If you’ve been issued a harvest permit, you are allowed to purchase additional permits, according to FWC, but you cannot exceed 10 total permits.

Each permit allows for two alligators to be taken from areas where gator hunting is legal. Hunting hours are between 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. A Florida hunting license is not required to participate.

The statewide alligator harvest program has been in place since 1988. FWC says alligator hunting is one way to manage the one million alligators in the state. 

For additional information on the program, click over to FWC’s website.