‘Sadism Or Pure Incompetence’: Who’s Duct-Taping Florida Gators?

LONGWOOD, FL — For the third time in a year, an alligator bound with duct tape has been found in a central Florida community, according to news reports.

The last time was about two weeks ago, Longwood resident Barbara Thornton told news station WOFL. The 7-foot gator’s powerful jaws were taped shut. Its enormous eyes were taped shut. Its legs were bound with the powerful multi-purpose adhesive.

To be sure, alligators and people don’t mix well. They’re ubiquitous in Florida and now crawl around all 67 counties, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The agency says many Floridians have learned to peacefully coexist with the reptiles, and serious injuries from alligators are rare. But folks who are concerned can call the Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286 to request a licensed trapper to catch the reptile and release it somewhere else.

Nowhere does the agency recommend, endorse or even talk about duct-taping an alligator. And it's stunning to Thornton that anyone would think to do that.

“It’s very sad. It makes you wonder about the human condition and how someone could be so cruel to do something like this," Thornton told WOFL.

The alligator was still alive and floating along the shore of the Sweetwater canal when Thornton saw it. She called the Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sent trappers to rescue and set the alligator free.

A month earlier, one of Thornton’s neighbors in the Seminole County town of about 15,000 in central Florida saw an alligator in a similar predicament.

And, Thornton’s husband, Jack, told news station WKMG, the incident a month ago wasn’t the first time a duct tape-bound alligator has floated by their Wekiva Island home.

“There was another one … about a year ago,” he said. “I don’t know who’s doing this. It is exceptionally cruel. It’s either motivated by sadism or pure incompetence without regard for motivation.

“It’s a behavior that needs to be corrected.”

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The Thorntons put up $500 in reward money, and Gatorland, a tourist attraction in nearby Orlando, put up another grand for a $1,500 reward leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

Alligator hunting is illegal in the Sunshine State, except during Florida’s statewide Florida alligator hunt held every fall. At other times, it’s a third-degree felony to intentionally kill, injure, possess or capture an alligator.

The Thorntons’ goal with the reward is not only to hold the person or people who duct-taped the alligator responsible, but also to raise awareness about animal cruelty.

“We can’t do this to our wildlife — any wildlife — in our community,” Barbara Thornton told WOFL.