Should the residents who fed this alligator be charged?

[El Barto]

Alligator Kills Fla. Man (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150570,00.html)

LAKELAND, Fla. — A Florida medical examiner says a man found dead in a pond was the victim of a nearly nine-foot alligator.

The animal has been captured and killed. It had the missing man's arm in its stomach.

Officials don't know what Don Owen (search) was doing at the pond about a dozen miles from his home in Bartow. He had been missing since Wednesday when he was seen at a convenience store.

His remains were found by several men fishing in the pond.

Residents said they had fed the alligator, which is illegal and dangerous. A Wildlife Commission spokesman says alligators normally flee from humans unless threatened or cornered. But he says alligators that have been fed by humans begin to look at them as a food source.

[TStoneMBD]

thats interesting. i personally dont know too much about alligators, but if there was one in the area i probably wouldnt have known that its illegal to feed him, or that he will eat people if you do. id say that they should only be charged if they can prove that the residents knew that this would happen, and or that its illegal.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

They should be charged and punished to the extent that the anti-feeding law says they can be penalized. I don't think they can or should be charged with the man's murder, if that's what you're really getting at.

Also, to TStoneMBD, ignorance is no defense.

[Porcupine]

[ QUOTE ]
They should be charged and punished to the extent that the anti-feeding law says they can be penalized. I don't think they can or should be charged with the man's murder, if that's what you're really getting at.

[/ QUOTE ]

Pretty much what I was going to say.

I was also wondering if El Barto was considering if they should be charged with manslaughter or something due to the death.

[nicky g]

[ QUOTE ]
They should be charged and punished to the extent that the anti-feeding law says they can be penalized. I don't think they can or should be charged with the man's murder, if that's what you're really getting at.


[/ QUOTE ]

[Matty]

Who the [censored] feeds an alligator?

[El Barto]

[ QUOTE ]
I was also wondering if El Barto was considering if they should be charged with manslaughter or something due to the death.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, you can't charge someone with something not written in the law, and Manslaughter would be a stretch here.

But here's a new question:

<font color="red"> Should everyone who feeds alligators throughout the state be aggressively charged whether the local alligator grabs someone or not, or only be charged after the fact, when their locally fed alligator is involved in a tragedy like this one? </font>

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

As with any other law, they should be charged when it comes to the authorities' attention that they are breaking the law.

[Matty]

Yes they should all be fined when caught. I don't know what you mean by "aggressively charged" though. Does this involve dirty looks and finger-wagging?

Obviously it isn't effective to actively search for alligator-feeders if that's what you mean by "aggressive". Besides, it looks like the alligator already caught one of what I have to believe is a very small number of raving morons. I'd like to know what the guy was buying at the convenience store before he dissapeared.

[El Barto]

[ QUOTE ]
As with any other law, they should be charged when it comes to the authorities' attention that they are breaking the law.

[/ QUOTE ]

But how actively should the authorities be looking?

How many people get caught speeding depends largely on how proactively the police are looking for the violation. The same could be true with alligator feeding.

[El Barto]

[ QUOTE ]
Besides, it looks like the alligator already caught one of what I have to believe is a very small number of raving morons. I'd like to know what the guy was buying at the convenience store before he dissapeared.


[/ QUOTE ]

He was not a local resident. Are you assuming he was a raving moron because an alligator caught him? Nothing in the article suggested this.

[Matty]

[ QUOTE ]
But how actively should the authorities be looking?

[/ QUOTE ]What?

What are you suggesting here? Swamp video cameras? Random interrogations?[ QUOTE ]
He was not a local resident. Are you assuming he was a raving moron because an alligator caught him? Nothing in the article suggested this.

[/ QUOTE ]12 miles is local, and the way he died does suggest that he was a moron.

[jakethebake]

Why is this a law anyway? Is it because it's unhealthy for alligaotrs? Or because they're protecting stupid people? I say let Darwin enforce this one.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Who the [censored] feeds an alligator?

[/ QUOTE ]

http://images.usatoday.com/news/_photos/2004/01/02-croc-inside.jpg

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Who the [censored] feeds an alligator?

[/ QUOTE ]

http://images.usatoday.com/news/_photos/2004/01/02-croc-inside.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

I remember that one. His wife came running out screaming at him...hilarious!

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Or because they're protecting stupid people? I say let Darwin enforce this one.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, this has to be one of the best things you ever said.

EDIT: I dont agree with this of course, but I like attitude.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
Why is this a law anyway? Is it because it's unhealthy for alligaotrs? Or because they're protecting stupid people? I say let Darwin enforce this one.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'd generally tend to agree with this line, but the thing is that it's not only protecting the people feeding the alligator, but also anyone else, stupid or not, who is just innocently enjoying whatever water/wetlands are in the area. The idiots feeding the alligators remove the alligators' natural fear of humans and replace it with an expectation that there's food at the end of any human's arm. That's the problem - not that the alligator might snap off the arm of the idiot who's feeding him.

[ChristinaB]

There was no need to kill this alligator. It could have been captured and put in a preserve away from humans.

The alligator was punished for:
1) stupid human behavior (feedings)
2) being true to its nature

[MelchyBeau]

[ QUOTE ]

Why is this a law anyway? Is it because it's unhealthy for alligaotrs? Or because they're protecting stupid people? I say let Darwin enforce this one.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure where you live, so I don't know if you've had experience in southern wetlands. I grew up in Louisiana.

Anyways, what Patrick the Rocket Scientist is correct. however that is not the only problem. An animal, if it gets accustomed to humans poses a great threat to others. These animals will wander off in search for humans. I've seen gators on the road many miles from swamps or bayous, where they really shouldn't be. Imagine if this alligator were to crawl into your yard where your kids were playing, or in the woods near your house.

sometimes these fuckers are hard to see. Especially if you are night fishing, or are wading in the water. They are very silent, but extremely fast. I think they can swim upwards to 30 mph. Typically those rubber boots will protect you from alot of small nasties, but not a gator chomp.

This is also why parks put up signs saying do not feed the bears, a Grizzley can be just as dangerous as a gator.

So, it isn't just to protect the idiots. It's to protect others who like to enjoy the wilderness.

Melch

[zephed56]

Heh. Florida.