Large alligators are abound in Santa Rosa County. A big one was recently caught in Blackwater Bay.
The alligator weighed 500 lbs, and was 12′ 6″ long. The team of four fought him for nearly 2 hours before they got him in the boat. He was caught by Nick Naylor, Casey Shields, Kenny Way, John Booker.
Nick Naylor added “There’s been a lot of talk about the alligators that were harvested this last week. I feel like a few things need to be cleared up .
We are four friends that entered for tags that the state of Florida puts out in a lottery. It’s not guaranteed that you will get tags. Nor is it a guarantee you will get an alligator. Between the four of us, and the money spent on tags, and license. We gave $1,000 dollars to the state of Florida for animal conservation.
Catching these alligators is not what you see on TV. These animals are caught, and harvested by rules set by the state of Florida. They’re taken as humanely as possibly, and not mistreated nor tortured prior to death. The probability of actually harvesting one of these animals is very slim.
We are not trophy hunters. This alligator is a trophy of an alligator, but every bit of him is used. The meat is eaten, and also donated to families that otherwise couldn’t afford store bought meat. The skin is tanned, and preserved. The skull is preserved. What is left of the remains are taken to a place designed to be consumed by other animals. The bodies are not just randomly dumped.
Hunters are not murderers or some type of nuisance to society. We are friends, making memories together doing things that we are passionate about. Yes, every type of hobby or interest has people that give it a negative image. But for the four of us, it’s a memory, and a bond that we will have for a lifetime.” — with Kenny Way.
