MONTGOMERY-The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will open registration for Alabama’s eighth regulated alligator hunting season on June 4, 2013. The hunts will be held on August 15-18 and August 22-25 in southwest and west central Alabama, and on August 9-25 in southeast Alabama. To register for the alligator hunts, visit outdooralabama.com starting June 4. Online registration for the random tag drawing will end at 8 a.m. on July 12.
A total of 275 tags will be issued for the hunts. Fifty tags will be issued for 
the hunt area in west central Alabama, which includes Monroe County, Wilcox County and Dallas County. A total of 75 tags will be issued for southeast Alabama, which includes Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Russell Counties. For the southwest Alabama hunts, which take place in all of Baldwin and Mobile counties, and parts of Washington, Clarke, and Monroe counties, 150 tags will be issued.
The cost is $6 to apply and individuals may register multiple times. Only Alabama residents age 16 years or older and all Alabama lifetime license holders (age 16 and older) may apply for an Alligator Possession Tag. Alabama lifetime license holders may apply for an Alligator Possession Tag even if they have moved out of the state.
Hunters will be randomly chosen by computer to receive one Alligator Possession Tag each, and the tags are non-transferable. If selected for an Alligator Possession Tag at two or more locations, the hunter will be allowed to choose which location they would like to hunt. The other locations not chosen will be filled from a list of alternates.
The random selection of hunters takes place on July 12. Applicants will be able to check their status at outdooralabama.com after the drawing takes place. Applicants selected to receive a permit must complete an online acceptance by 8 a.m. on July 16. After that date, alternates will be called by telephone to fill any vacancies.
Selected hunters and their assistants are required to have in their possession a valid hunting license. Most hunters will 
be required to complete the Alligator Training Course provided by Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division (WFF) personnel, some exceptions apply. Hunters who have participated in previous alligator hunts and are selected to hunt this year should contact their local WFF district wildlife office to determine if they are exempt from the mandatory training class. A list of WFF wildlife district offices can be found atoutdooralabama.com/contact.
Each person receiving an Alligator Possession Tag will be allowed to harvest one alligator. Hunting hours are 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in all locations. All Alabama hunting and boating regulations must be followed.
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is the largest reptile in North America. A fully mature alligator may grow to 14 feet in length and weigh as much as 1,000 pounds. Known for its prized meat and leather, the species was threatened with extinction due to unregulated harvest during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. No regulations existed in those days to limit the number of alligators harvested. In 1938, it is believed that Alabama was the first state to protect alligators by outlawing these harvests. Other states soon followed and in 1967 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placed the American alligator on the Endangered Species list. By 1987, the species was removed from the Endangered Species list and the alligator population has continued to grow.
1 comment
Hmmmm You pay money for a chance to win a tag to be able to hunt. Sounds suspiciously like a lottery.
Section 13A-12-20
Definitions
Section 13A-12-20
3) CONTEST OF CHANCE . Any contest, game, gaming scheme or gaming device in which the outcome depends in a material degree upon an element of chance, notwithstanding that skill of the contestants may also be a factor therein.
(4) GAMBLING . A person engages in gambling if he stakes or risks something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under his control or influence, upon an agreement or understanding that he or someone else will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome. Gambling does not include bona fide business transactions valid under the law of contracts, including but not limited to contracts for the purchase or sale at a future date of securities or commodities, and agreements to compensate for loss caused by the happening of chance, including but not limited to contracts of indemnity or guaranty and life, health or accident insurance.
(6) LOTTERY or POLICY . An unlawful gambling scheme in which:
a. The players pay or agree to pay something of value for chances, represented and differentiated by numbers or by combinations of numbers or by some other medium, one or more of which chances are to be designated by the winning ones; and
b. The winning chances are to be determined by a drawing or by some other fortuitous method; and
c. The holders of the winning chances are to receive something of value.
Section 13A-12-22
Promoting gambling.
(a) A person commits the crime of promoting gambling if he knowingly advances or profits from unlawful gambling activity otherwise than as a player.
(b) Promoting gambling is a Class A misdemeanor.
Section 13A-12-23
Conspiracy to promote gambling .
(a) A person commits the crime of conspiracy to promote gambling if he conspires to advance or profit from gambling activity otherwise than as a player.
(b) “Conspire” means to engage in activity constituting a criminal conspiracy as defined in Section 13A-4-3.
(c) Conspiracy to promote gambling is a Class A misdemeanor