The state of Florida and our FWC or Fish and WildLife Commission are presently debating how to move forward with our latest wildlife contact violation that is going viral.

The question is should this person be charged with a crime for what she did? How far should the state of Florida go to protect people from wildlife?

A lot of people who move into Florida and come into contact with our alligators for the first time ever tend to jump up and holler "kill them all!" While us Florida boys would rather live with the gators.

But without further ado, take a look at Florida's latest gator investigation ongoing right now. And how should they respond to this given the fact that a woman was recently killed by an alligator- and in my fishing spot too. So the state has to weigh that in as well.

But should this person be charged with a crime to protect the wildlife or her?

The sad thing is that the state has already taken one action quietly on this case.

You can bet the first thing the FWC did was go hunt this particular gator down and kill it.

In the video do you see how close this gator gets to the kayak and just sits there as if waiting on something?

The first thing state officers are going to asking is if anyone is feeding that gator and training it to do this. If that person had fallen overboard it could have been a different story. It was THAT close.

We can't have gators get that close without fear. And that person in the kayak appears to have the mentality of 100% safety on her side. Little does she know.

https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0379/Sections/0379.409.html

"Under Florida law, it is illegal to touch, harass, or otherwise bother wild alligators. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) strictly enforces regulations against touching, feeding, or enticing these apex predators, which can result in severe fines or criminal charges."

So it is a shame, but under existing Florida law she may only face fines, but she can also be facing criminal charges for what she did.

What I think investigators will be looking at to determine severity of her guilt will be the fact that she intentionally and actively pursued the alligator. That will be her downfall right there.

If she had been sitting still and NOT paddling when a gator swam by and she reached out to touch it, nothing might be done other than a stern warning.

But for her to actually pursue that alligator so she could break the law will determine whether she crossed a criminal line. I think she did. And what she just did helped to get that alligator killed. But in my opinion what really got that gator killed was the part in the video where it is quietly sitting there watching her as if waiting on something.

That right there is a problem and that gator is now deceased because of it.

"Penalties: Bothering or harassing an alligator can be treated as a Class C misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 30 days in jail and fines up to $2,500. If an alligator is killed or injured during an illegal encounter, it is a third-degree felony. [1, 2]

1. Safety & Ecology: Approaching alligators teaches them to associate humans with food or interaction, which decreases their natural fear and increases the likelihood of dangerous encounters. Once an alligator becomes a nuisance, FWC policy mandates that the animal be euthanized, as relocations are rarely permitted."

The state of Florida has to worry about thousands of people coming here to do precisely this same thing over and over. So I am thinking a heavy hand may be coming to use her as an example for all the others to come.

Should they charge her? Fine her? Or, just give her a stern warning? And make a public spectacle out of it just to be a warning to others?

This will be an interesting one to follow.

fine and no jail time. what she did was stupid and reckless. It is against the law. There is clear evidence. Her pursuing the gator was wildlife harrassment. Definitely a citation. Definitely not worth jail time. level of citation and whether it is a misdemeanor or not? meh.