Officials charge two men in the death of 11-foot alligator in Central Texas



Image 1 of / 71 Caption Close Officials charge two men in the death of 11-foot alligator in Central Texas 1 / 71 Back to Gallery

Texas Parks and Wildlife officials announced late Friday that two men have been charged in the killing of an 11-foot alligator along the Lampasas River south of Waco.

Bradley Gillis, 25, and James Haffa, 32, were charged with misdemeanor taking of wildlife resources without landowner consent, according to the Associated Press.

The dead alligator was reported Tuesday after two fishermen had to euthanize it, said Steve Lightfoot, an information specialist for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

While the two were fishing for catfish, the alligator hung itself on a hook, according to the Associated Press. After they killed the gator, they reported it to an agency hotline.

“Whether or not that is the case, that is still a matter for the investigation to determine,” Lightfoot had said in a phone interview earlier in the day.

If the people who killed the animal did not have a permit or did so on public land, it could violate state law.

“I talked to the game warden this morning, and he’s still trying to sort through the ‘he said, she said’ part of it,” he added.

At the time, game wardens had “some indication” on who killed the alligator, but were sorting out the details.

“Unfortunately, when you’ve got information circulating through social media like this, it makes it kind of a longer trail to track back,” he said. “Right now, it’s just too soon to speculate.”

Lightfoot did not have details on exactly why and how the alligator was killed, but he believes it was killed on public property.

The Associated Press reported that the fishermen led game wardens to the alligator carcass, near the Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, which is fed from the Lampasas River. The lake is located just west of Belton, in Bell County.

Bell County is a non-core county when it comes to alligator hunting, meaning only one alligator can be harvested per person during the season that runs from April 1 to June 30. Hunters must have a permit and can only harvest on private property.

Lightfoot said certain parts of Texas allow the harvesting of alligators on public property, but only “in the historic range of alligators in Texas’ southeast counties.”

Growing up in the area, Lightfoot added that foul play towards alligators is unusual.

“Those gators have been along those rivers for decades, and most of the locals are aware of it,” Lightfoot said. “There hasn’t really been an issue of them (people) bothering the gators, or trying to take one out.”

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