TIME TO HUNT AND EAT GATORS!

Monday, May 25th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

TIME TO HUNT AND EAT GATORS!

 Big news from the Louisiana Legislature. A new law has been passed that will allow a season for the recreational hunting of alligators. In the past, you could only get a commercial license. But now, all you hunters can go after a gator just for the fun of it. Now don’t dismiss the opportunity. If it’s cooked right, alligator can be quite tasty. Something like chicken although a little less tender. I have hunted and I’ve cooked alligators for many years.

Alligators were in short supply up until a few years ago. If you go back 50 years, there were fewer than 100,000 alligators in the state. Today the population is upwards of some 3 million. So we must add this scaly critter to our list of game eatables. Alligator stew and alligator sauce piquant are staples in Cajun Country.  And by the way, for my Yankee friends, sauce piquant slight rusty color.

“So how do you catch an alligator?” you might ask. Good question. I’ve gone alligator hunting on a number of occasions, so I know the drill well.  I would always look for a lake or stream where alligators were known to habitat. Then late in the afternoon or evening, I would look for a tree with branches that overhung the water. Then, I would throw a fairly thick rope over the tree limb, but first put a 6-inch grappling hook tied to the rope.  A good size raw chicken was placed on the hook, and the hook with the chicken was hung out over the stream about 2 feet off the water. Then I left for the day, to come back the next morning.

When I returned, if the rope was taut and straight into the water, I knew the alligator had reached out, swallowed the chicken, and had that hook lodged in its stomach.  So how to proceed?  Under Louisiana law, it’s illegal to shoot a female alligator less than 5 feet long.  The reason being that catching alligators is big business, and the law protects the younger female so that she can procreate. “All right,” you say. “But how do you tell?”

It takes two people to run the test. You drag the alligator out of the water and into your boat. Then one person ties the alligator’s mouth shut so that it does not bite. Then the other person reaches down between the alligator’s legs and feels to see whether it’s a male or female.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? But that’s the only way I know as to how you find out whether it’s a male or female, and whether you can take the gator or not. It may sound coarse, but I’ve done it a number of times. Then the person who is doing the checking takes a 22 rifle, dangles the gator over the side of the boat, and shoots it in the head. Wow, what sport, right?

A wild gator that is 7 feet or longer can sell for around $15 a foot. A 10-foot gator, considered to be trophy sized, can bring $40 dollars a foot, or up to $400. That ain’t chump change. The processor who buys the alligator can sell the skin to boot or clothing manufacturers, and the meat to food wholesalers. So catching these gators has turned into quite a big business.

So do I have a special saying in my Gator quest? Of course. How about this.

I was going to cook alligator for dinner

But realized that I only have a crock

………. 

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownla.com