Time is now to control alligators

The recent horrific alligator attack on a local man shows without a doubt why South Carolina needs an alligator management program that includes a harvest season for private and public lands.

It has been 20 years since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took the alligator off its endangered species list. Alligators are now found throughout the Southeast, from the Carolinas to Texas and north into Arkansas. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources estimates there are at least 100,000 alligators in our state. The DNR reports issuing high numbers of nuisance-removal permits in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties in recent years.

Several years ago the S.C. General Assembly changed the law to allow the issuance of permits to individual landowners who needed to remove alligators for nuisance or emergency reasons.

This change made significant strides toward the proper management of this resource and reduced the state cost but it did not adequately address the significant numbers of animals that have persisted and increased on public lakes and rivers. Last year, I introduced a bill that would allow the recreational harvest of alligators under controlled conditions and in compliance with federal law.

The bill, written with DNR scientists, allows that department to establish the program, set the season, the methods of take and the hunting areas, among other conditions, to control and manage these animals. It would also allow DNR to continue to designate alligator control agents, who demonstrate that they have the skills to remove alligators.

As a resident of Lake Moultrie, I became an advocate of the alligator season nearly five years ago after a friend's dog was attacked and eaten by an alligator on the lake. My friend was throwing sticks for his dog to retrieve. An unseen alligator lunged from the water and attacked and killed this family pet as my friend's children, who were swimming less than 50 feet away, watched in horror.

The recent attack on a snorkeler in Lake Moultrie was a rare but regrettable event. While areas of Lake Moultire in Berkeley County and around Bear Island in Colleton County are of great concern, this bill is good for the state. With our lakes being cleared of hydrilla and other aquatic plants, alligators are increasingly mobile.

Droughts and low water have caused alligators to venture from normal hunting grounds and into developed areas filled with people and pets. With more people enjoying our lakes each year, now is the time to act.

The alligator control bill, S. 452, passed the Senate last year, but saw no action in the House. I expect that after this highly publicized attack, the House will take action on the bill next year.

Hopefully, by this time next year, the season will be in place and the good sportsmen of South Carolina will begin properly managing our large alligator population, particularly in public waters.

Larry Grooms

131 Field Drive

Bonneau

Larry Grooms represents S.C. Senate District 37, which includes parts of Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester counties.