Two men in Leon County have been accused of catching a baby alligator in Lake Talquin and keeping it alive in a cooler to eat later at home, according to an investigative report released this week.
The men were charged with a second degree misdemeanor for taking or possessing any alligator or alligator eggs without a license. (The USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida does not name defendants in misdemeanor cases.)
According to the report, a family member of one of the men complained to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on July 29, saying the relative “had caught a baby alligator the night before and has been keeping it in a cooler in the yard ever since.”
When interviewed by state law enforcement, the man said he and another man were fishing on Lake Talquin when they saw the alligator, the report says.
One of them caught the alligator, he said, and the other “put the rope on the alligator and drag(ged) it to the house.” They each accused the other of wanting “to eat the alligator,” the report says.
Because both were in possession of the alligator at one point, both are being charged, the report says. The alligator was seized by FWC officers and returned to Lake Talquin, according to a preliminary report.
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Two Florida men arrested for catching baby alligator to eat: report
Source Agencies
