Registration for Alabama’s gator season is now open.
Alabama is one of nine states that sells permits to hunt the large reptiles. Gator hunts take place primarily at night and by boat. Only 260 hunting tags will be distributed this season.
Marianne Hudson is an Outreach Specialist with the Alabama Department of Conservation. She said that the $22 fee to apply for a tag serves a larger purpose.
“License sales are what funds conservation in our state and nationwide. So, every alligator hunter who purchases a hunting license or or registers and pays the registration fee is contributing to the conservation of alligators and other wildlife in our state,” she said.
Lucky permit recipients are chosen by a randomized computer generator. Hudson said the limited hunting season shows the success of past conservation efforts.
“The recovery of the American alligator in the state of Alabama is an incredible success story. At one time, alligators were not very common in Alabama at all, and our state was one of the very first to protect the species in the entire nation," she said. "Since then, as the decades have gone by, alligator populations have increased dramatically.”
Registration for Alabama’s highly limited tags runs through July 14. Gator season begins in early August.
