FLORIDA — Hunters from across the country will enter a lottery system Monday to get permits to hunt alligators in Florida.
More people are applying to hunt gators because it's become very profitable, but Fish and Wildlife officials said they are still keeping a tight control on the number of gators that can be killed.
At Brooks Brothers Gator Farm in Christmas, they breed gators, and the meat has become a cash crop.
"$12 to $15 a pound, sometimes more," said Shane Brooks of Brooks Brothers Alligator Farm.
Gator hides are also selling for $12 a centimeter.
Gator meat has become a very profitable business in the state, and a lot more hunters have been turned on by all the TV shows. So, competition has gotten fierce.
Last year, FWC issued just more than 5,000.
But, with one-and-a half million estimated gators in the state, some in the industry would like to see that number go up.
Louisiana for instance has a similar number of gators, but allows more than 26,000 gators to be killed every year.
"I think the game commission could open up more areas. There's a lot of St. Johns Water Management area that could be opened. That would create more business," said Brooks.
Brooks said the more gators that are killed, the fewer that crawl into ponds or canals in neighborhoods, and that means more money in hunters 'pockets.
"We get calls from big restaurants up north wanting 1,000 pounds a month. We can't hardly supply our customers we got now. We turn people away all the time," said Brooks.
There is currently no push to expand gator hunting numbers.
FWC said it tries to maintain a healthy balance to protect and control the number of gators.
Hunters meanwhile must pay $272 for a license and are limited to two gators.