6/6/2007

TAPT – The Hunting Community’s Newest Status Symbol

LITTLE ROCK – Alligator hunting is coming to Arkansas this fall. Although twice as many alligator hunting permits as elk hunting permits will be issued, their rank as a bragging point should be just as high.

Officially, the alligator permits are called Temporary Alligator Possession Tags. Alligators are a federally managed species and must be registered with federal officials once they are harvested. The TAPT will confirm the hunter’s legal right to the alligator from the time of harvest until a federal Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species permit is issued.

Forty TAPTs will be available only to Arkansas residents and will be divided into three categories. Seventeen private land permits will be assigned directly to private land owners in Alligator Management Zones 1 and 3. Another eight at-large private land permits will be divided between Alligator Management Zones 1 and 3. At-large permits will be distributed by random draw to applicants with written permission to access private waters in the management zones and cannot be used on public waters.

Five public land permits in Alligator Management Zone 1 and 10 public land permits in Alligator Management Zone 3 also will be issued through a random draw.  These permits are for designated public waters and can not be transferred to other public waters.

Hunting will take place only at night during the last two weekends in September. The season will begin one-half hour after sunset on Friday, Sept. 21, until one-half hour before sunrise on Monday, Sept. 24. The second season will begin one-half hour after sunset on Friday, Sept. 28, until one-half hour before sunrise on Monday, Oct. 1.

Alligators must be caught and subdued using a handheld snare or handheld harpoon before being dispatched with a shotgun or bang stick (a shotgun-like device used for sharks and similar hunting in saltwater areas). Alligators must be restrained before dispatching to prevent loss of the harvested animal in deep water. Allowing hunters to shoot or otherwise attempt to take an unrestrained alligator would likely result in the loss of many alligators without a successful harvest.

The alligator permit application period is underway and will end midnight June 29. Applicants must have a valid resident big-game license and must be 16 or older by June 29, 2007, to apply for a permit. Non-residents may participate only as assistants to the hunter. Each hunter will be allowed up to three assistants. Persons convicted of AGFC regulation violations totaling 12 or more points in the last three years are not eligible. Only one application may be submitted per person.

Successfully drawn applicants will be notified by mail. They will be required to pay $35 for the permit and must attend a training workshop, where they will receive instructions for the hunt.

For more information on the alligator hunt, log on to www.agfc.com or visit any AGFC office. Applications may be made online or at any AGFC regional office.