Applications open for Florida alligator harvest permits: How to apply, what to know

Did you know Florida has an alligator harvest season? Applications to participate in phase one close Monday.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hands out more than 7,000 harvest permits annually.

Officials said the statewide alligator hunt is a highly sought after limited entry hunt, with often more than 15,000 applicants for the randomly awarded permits.

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FWC has offered hunters the opportunity to take part in its annual statewide recreational alligator harvest since 1988. Officials said recreational alligator hunting is one part of the FWC’s overall approach to managing the state’s estimated 1.3 million alligator population.

Countywide alligator trapping licenses are available in 65 of Florida’s 67 counties.

The statewide recreational alligator hunting season runs Aug. 15 to Nov. 1 each year.

Trappers catch 13 foot gator in Oviedo park Trappers said the gator, which appeared to not be afraid of people, weighed nearly 1,000 pounds.

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