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NV-Fisherman reels in alligator at Sunset Park lak
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by tigers9 on July 7, 2009
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Mail this to a friend!
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Wow,, they killed it quickly, didn’t even give some rescue group a chance to export it out of the state. As many on this list know, gators r pretty much illegal in NV unless u r AZA zoo.
Z
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Fisherman reels in alligator at Sunset Park lake
Animal control officials say a man angling for catfish at a Sunset Park lake instead reeled in a 3 1/2-foot-long alligator.
The healthy juvenile reptile was euthanized, and Clark County Animal Control Supervisor Dave March says it was probably released recently into the man-made lake. March says it couldn't have gone unnoticed for long.
The fisherman secured the alligator with fishing line until authorities arrived.
Doug Nielsen, a Nevada Wildlife Department spokesman, says the alligator's appearance at the lake fits a pattern.
Nielsen says people may go on vacation, see a small alligator and bring it back as a pet. But the animal can get big and aggressive -- that's when it ends up in local waters.
Importing and owning alligators is illegal in Nevada.
http://www.kvbc.com/global/story.asp?s=10656723&ClientType=Printable
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/07/sunset-park-unfazed-fisherman-reels-ties-alligator/
In Sunset Park, unfazed fisherman reels in, ties up alligator
Officials say reptile was probably cast-off pet — one that’s illegal here
By Joe Schoenmann (contact)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 | 2 a.m.
COURTESY OF CLARK COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL
Dave March holds the gator caught Monday at the lake in Sunset Park.
Sunset Park
Map data ©2009 Tele Atlas - Terms of Use
Beyond the Sun
• Nevada Department of Wildlife
A fisherman angling for catfish in Sunset Park reeled in an alligator Monday morning.
Authorities were alerted about 8:30 a.m., and by the time they arrived at the park’s man-made lake, the fisherman had secured the 3 1/2-foot reptile with fishing line.
“The guy’s got some moxie, whoever he is,” Doug Nielsen, a Nevada Wildlife Department spokesman, said of the fisherman.
Clark County Animal Control Supervisor Dave March said the alligator was likely released recently into the lake, where children frequently feed ducks from park benches and urban anglers dangle a line in the catfish- and trout-stocked waters. It’s unlikely such an animal could have gone unnoticed for long, he said.
Importing and owning alligators is illegal in Nevada. Those two actions can result in fines of up to $1,000 each and six months in jail. (The Nevada Administrative Code’s list of prohibited animals is a long one. In addition to alligators, it includes freshwater sharks and stingrays.)
Releasing a prohibited animal is a misdemeanor and carries the same penalties, Nielsen said.
After the Wildlife Department took possession of the alligator, which Nielsen described as a healthy juvenile, it was put down.
Authorities have no idea who dumped the reptile in Sunset Park Lake, he said. But its appearance fits a pattern here.
“What happens is, guys will go on vacation to Florida or somewhere like that and they see a small alligator and think, ‘What a cool pet,’ then bring it to Nevada,” he said. “But they get big and can get aggressive and a little dangerous and can end up in local waters.”
In the right situation alligators can survive here, March said.
“This is the second alligator I’ve seen in the 20 years I’ve been here,” March said. “The other was about 12 feet long and in someone’s back yard.”
In 2005 members of the Phoenix Herpetological Society captured an 8-foot, 3-inch alligator living in spring-fed ponds in northwestern Arizona, 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas. A Mesquite rancher had received the reptile as a gift.
Nielsen said owners of a prohibited animal who are no longer able to care for it should call authorities. There’s no guarantee the pet owner will get away without a fine, but coming forward could lessen the penalties, he said.
“The big thing for people to realize is that when they find something that appears to be really exotic and might be a cool pet, think twice about it,” Nielsen added. “Especially something that comes with teeth.”
Discussion: 7 comments so far…
1. By markp
7/7/09 at 5:26 a.m.
Suggest removal
read the list, you can own an elephant...lol
2. By cmanone1
7/7/09 at 7:41 a.m.
Suggest removal
Why was a healthy juvinile animal put down? I'm sure there was a rescue orginization that would have covered the cost of relocating the reptile. Typical move on the part of Clark County animal control! What a shame, shame on us!
3. By mred
7/7/09 at 7:59 a.m.
Suggest removal
Murdering an alligator sends a bad message to the public. There would have been any number of people who would have transferred it to Florida, or a zoo or aquarium might have taken the animal.
4. By LasVegas2009
7/7/09 at 8:07 a.m.
Suggest removal
They should have dressed it out and cooked it. I had alligator in Florida once and it was awesome. And to all the bleeding hearts a Gator will eat babies and grown adult people given a chance. An another thing Florida doesnt need or even want another gator. What idiots! You want to save the rattle snakes too? Save the alligators! (for soup)
5. By William924
7/7/09 at 8:25 a.m.
Suggest removal
They should have "put down" Dave March for being dressed like that. Is it Halloween already?
6. By jaesun
7/7/09 at 8:25 a.m.
Suggest removal
who cares. 1 alligator down, 1 million alive.
7. By ljsmith56
7/7/09 at 9:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
A Healthy Juvenile Alligator! WHY WAS THIS ANIMAL MURDERED?? Hey, I gotta say that I personally do not care for them & would be against having one as a Pet but......they should not have killed it!
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