$5,000 rewards offered in alligator abuse and molestation cases
(Two alligator abuse cases one year apart in Florida, Image credits PETA and ALDF)
Officials in Seminole County, Florida, are still seeking the public’s help in determining who is responsible for the abuse of an alligator found bound with tape earlier this spring. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), the nation’s preeminent legal advocacy organization for animals, is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for binding an alligator with duct tape. A couple from Longwood, a town just north of Orlando, discovered the alligator in area waters, “with its mouth and eyes bound in tape,” according to WESH-2 News.
The abused gator – whose eyes and snout were taped shut – was spotted by the couple swimming in Sweetwater Canal, just off the Wekiva River. According to officials, the alligator’s snout and hind legs were bound with duct tape. While the alligator’s limbs were not bound together, the tape was extremely tight, almost cutting off circulation. The alligator’s eyes were also taped shut.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to calls about the alligator immediately. Officials are investigating a possible connection between this incident and two other incidents involving bound alligators in the area – one occurred earlier this year and the other occurred last year.
“Wild animals are protected under the law. This is a very serious crime, all the more urgent because it may be part of a larger pattern of cruelty and animal cruelty can be an indicator of violence and other crimes against people as well,” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells. “We thank the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for their swift action in this case and for taking this incident—and the other possibly related incidents—seriously.”
In Florida, it is a third-degree felony to intentionally injure, kill, possess, or capture an alligator. The maximum penalty is up to five years in prison or fine of $5,000, or both.
If you have information related to this incident, please contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-3922.
Unfortunately, the abuse of Florida’s wild gators is not a new or even uncommon occurrence. A year ago in May 2020, an alligator was found roped and shot with arrows in Fort Meyers. In that instance, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for “impaling an alligator through the neck with two arrows and wrapping a rope around the animal’s feet and mouth.”
The injured alligator – who was well known in the Fort Meyers area and has never behaved aggressively – was found on April 28, 2020, near a backyard pond on Oak Hill Loop. Wildlife officials immediately took the animal to receive treatment, but the sheriff’s office had no leads about the identity of the attacker(s).
“Someone shot this alligator twice in the neck, tied the animal up, and left him or her to suffer and die,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA urges anyone with information to come forward immediately so that the abuser can be held accountable and stopped from hurting anyone else.”
If you have any information regarding the abuse of this alligator in Fort Meyers, you are urged to call Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS.
Related Content from the Animal Legal Defense Fund:
- Animal Protection Laws of the United States of America
- Legal Resource
- $5,000 Added to Reward Offer in “Trump” Manatee Case
(Sources: Animal Legal Defense Fund / PETA)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
