Case Details

Park game warden tied alligator to truck, dragging it through the street before shooting it
Sugar Land, TX (US)

Date: Apr 24, 2003
County: Fort Bend
Local Map: available
Disposition: Not Charged

Abuser names unreleased

Case ID: 1340
Classification: Vehicular
Animal: reptile
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Suspect was in animal welfare field
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The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is supporting efforts by The Houston SPCA Animal Cruelty Division to consider animal cruelty charges against a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden who tied a nine-foot alligator to his truck and dragged it through the street before shooting the animal to death last week.

The incident happened on April 24, before stunned residents�including children�of the Shadow Bend subdivision in Fort Bend County. The incident was caught on videotape by a local resident and distributed through the news media.

"The game warden's actions were outrageous," said Lou Guyton, director of The HSUS Southwest Regional Office in Dallas. �His actions are not what we expect from modern-day animal control professionals."

According to a press release issued April 30, by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the organization stands by the warden�s actions, but plans to assemble a panel of "experts" to consider new recommendations on how to handle nuisance alligators.

The Houston SPCA, with full support of The HSUS, is calling for the Fort Bend County Assistant District Attorney, Rendon Felipe, to prosecute this case under Texas Penal Code 42.09. According to Texas law, a person commits an offense of animal cruelty if they intentionally and knowingly transport an animal in a cruel manner. Penalties include a fine of up to $5,000 and two-years maximum jail time.

Alligators were once so persecuted by humans that their populations everywhere were recognized as threatened. With better protection, numbers are increasing and human-alligator conflicts are on the rise. As with any potentially dangerous large animal, The HSUS advocates that public officials create protocols.

Upon reviewing the videotape, David L. Pauli, a regional director with The HSUS and author of the National Animal Control Association's manual chapter on animal capture and handling, said that at no time did the game warden�s handling of the alligator follow normal or acceptable protocols.

Pauli suggests that any professional wildlife handler dealing with a potentially dangerous animal should protect the public first by removing the public from the area. The warden should have called in local police or other public safety officials to help secure the area. Secondly, humane restraint of the animal, including a head cover, should be used to reduce stress and stimulus. Finally, the animal, in this case, the alligator, should have been removed with the proper equipment including a trailer for transport.

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