When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s no time to make a plan to drain the swamp is one of those idioms that folks in Louisiana have undoubtedly muttered over the past few years. With more alligators than they know what to do with, the large reptiles are quickly becoming a nuisance to residents and some lawmakers are hoping that expanding hunting opportunities in the Bayou State will help.
With a gator population that has swelled from roughly 100,000 in the 1970s to over 2,000,000 today (with an additional 1,000,000 raised on farms), Louisiana’s American alligator recovery has been a success, to say the least.
“We’re being overrun by alligators,” said Democratic state Rep. Chad Brown, of Plaquemine. “Two Sundays ago my neighbor called and told me to be careful because there’s an alligator under your wife’s car.”
House Concurrent 132, introduced by Brown, is asking the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to expand hunting seasons and limits to aid in reducing human-alligator interactions.
“They’re everywhere,” said Republican Columbia Rep. Neil Riser. “I think we’re going to have to get to the point to (expand hunting).”
“We know duck hunters who now won’t bring their retrievers to the blind with them in some duck holes because of alligators,” said Brown, who noted that alligators aren’t just a threat to humans but to commercial fishing and crawfishing operations.
So far the resolution has cleared the House Natural Resources Committee without any objection. Get your John boats ready.
