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Alligator Hunting Class To Be Held At Fairground

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 1, 2008

TAMPA - The fine art and nuance of alligator hunting will be discussed at an alligator hunting training seminar from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

The free course is offered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The instructor is commission alligator biologist Steve Stiegler. The discussion will cover topics such as alligator programs, legal methods of hunting, areas where the annual hunt is allowed, equipment and alligator carcass processing.

Licensed alligator hunters and guides from around the state will be available to answer questions. Outfitters and vendors will also be there.

"This seminar should be jampacked with outdoors men and outdoors women since the state issued a record number of alligator hunting permits for 2008," said Phil Walters of GatorGuides.com, one of the organizers.

"With the incredible amount of media coverage of the drawing for alligator hunting permits back in June, coupled to the public's appetite for exciting outdoor recreational activities, it appears there may be a record number of rookie gator hunters gearing up for this season," Walters said in a news release announcing the seminars. "The greater the public's involvement with gator hunting, the increased knowledge of alligator conservation and a better public understanding of sustainable-use hunting, the brighter the future will be for the alligator."

No preregistration is necessary. Those attending should enter the fairgrounds from Orient Road. Parking is free.

For information, call the fairgrounds at 1-800-345-3247 or go to www.myfwc.com/gators. The course will take place again at the Okeechobee County Civic Center in Okeechobee on Sunday.

About 5,000 permits have been issued for this year's hunting season, which runs from Aug. 15 through Nov. 1.

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