Ala. Admin. Code r. 220-2-.96

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 220-2-.96 - Alligator Farming Regulations

(1) GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR TAKING, POSSESSION AND SALE OF CERTAIN REPTILES:

(a) No person shall buy, sell, take or possess any alligator, crocodile, or any part thereof, or the nests or eggs of any alligator or crocodile except under permit from the Department or as otherwise provided by law or by these regulations.

(b) Nothing in this rule, however, shall prohibit the possession of lawfully acquired cured and mounted trophies and articles manufactured from the skins or hides or other parts of alligators and crocodiles.

(c) Any alligator, crocodile, or similar reptile, or any part thereof, seized or otherwise acquired by the Department may be sold.

(d) Alligators, or any parts thereof, lawfully obtained outside the state may be imported only under permit from the director or as otherwise provided by law.

(e) The records of individuals or concerns selling any species of crocodilian will be subject to inspection and such individuals or concerns shall have in their possession invoices or other documentary evidence of the suppliers of such crocodilians. The advertisement or representation of caimans as alligators or crocodiles is prohibited.

(f) No person shall use, be in possession of or attend any hook, peg or other such device baited in such a manner as to be capable of taking alligators and suspended so that the bait is above water or submerged in a manner to take or attempt to take alligators unless such person is authorized by the Director.

(2) REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE OPERATION OF ALLIGATOR FARMS:

Alligator farms may be established and operated and alligators, eggs, and hides may be possessed only under license by the Department subject to the following restrictions and conditions:

(a) General Provisions:

1. The premises of alligator farms shall be subject to inspection by Department personnel at any time.

2. Complete written records of all changes in alligator stock shall be kept and made available for examination by Department personnel. Shipping tickets, invoices or bills of lading shall be maintained to show source of supply and disposition of alligator stock.

3. No licensee or his or her employee shall receive or transfer any alligator, eggs or hides except as provided by Act No. 89-874, 1989 Regular Session.

4. The licensee shall disclose ownership of alligators and provide documentation of inventory of initial and subsequent numbers of all alligator eggs and alligators, including breeding females and offspring. Documentation shall be sufficient to demonstrate the inventory is commensurate with production and survival levels for captive populations as measured against professionally accepted biological standards.

5. Permits to establish and operate alligator farms are not transferable.

6. The licensee shall provide security of facility premises necessary to ensure that no alligators, eggs, or parts thereof can be moved in or out of the alligator farm without the licensee's knowledge.

7. An Alligator Farm Annual Report shall be completed and submitted to the Department's Game and Fish Division, Law Enforcement Section prior to annual re-1icensing.

8. Alligator farm permittees shall be licensed at an annual fee of $1,000.00 as required by Act No. 89-874, 1989 Regular Session.

9. The Department shall not issue an alligator farm permit to any person who has been convicted of any violation of Act No. 89-874 or the rules of the Department relating to the illegal taking of any crocodilian species, except as provided in Act No. 89-874.

(b) Specifications for alligator farms:

1. Pens or holding facilities shall be constructed in a manner to prevent the escape of any alligator contained in such pen or facility or entrance by any alligator from outside such pen or facility.

2. The permittee shall provide rearing tanks (of concrete, fiberglass, plastic or metal construction) for alligators less than four (4) feet in length. Alligators less than two (2) feet in length shall be housed separately from those two (2) to four (4) feet in length. Onsite propagation facilities will also provide ponds, nest sites and spacing for breeding adults and artificial incubators.

3. The licensee shall make all alligator eggs produced on the farm available for inspection by August 1 of each nesting year. All alligator eggs shall be in containers having not more than one layer of eggs at one incubation facility on each alligator farm. Only viable alligator eggs will be credited to the egg inventory.

4. Alligator farm licensees shall furnish alligators housing of sufficient size and design such that alligators shall be kept in a humane and sanitary manner.

(c) Facility Standards:

1. General. The most important factor in establishing an alligator farm is the acquisition of enough suitable land and habitat to support a population of adult alligators in outside breeding ponds and adequate area for the construction of holding houses for young alligators up to three years of age. There must be a reliable source of fresh water and equipment for pumping and changing water.

2. Breeding ponds shall be fenced around the perimeters with woven wire or board fences of sufficient height (minimum, 4 feet) and tightness, constructed so as to prevent the escape or entrance of any size alligator. Fences shall be buried or otherwise secured at the bottom so as to prevent entrance or escape. Breeding ponds must have at least one area of a minimum depth of 1.8 meters (approximately 6 feet at its deepest point) and suitable nesting sites.

3. Holding houses containing an adequate number of artificial tanks will be provided for growing out small alligators six feet or less in length. A sufficient number of tanks will be provided to allow for segregation by age/size classes, and each tank will be permanently numbered to facilitate accurate record keeping. There shall be sufficient space in each tank for all the alligators to completely submerge under water at one time and enough "dry" area in which to run around for basking purposes. A properly constructed tank will consist of 2/3 water for 1/3 "dry" area. The overall size of tank will depend upon the number of alligators held, but as a general standard each alligator shall have enough space to submerge without having contact with another alligator.

4. Holding tanks will be designed to permit periodic cleaning of waste and a complete change of water at regular intervals (at least every other day).

5. A controlled environmental chamber complete with an artificial nesting area (incubator) will be provided for hatching of eggs. The chamber will also contain a sufficient number of holding tanks to accommodate anticipated hatchlings and to provide a suitable environment for new-born alligators.

(d) Harvest of Alligators:

1. Alligators, at least four feet in length, or the skins or products of such captive-reared alligators raised on a farm licensed under the provisions of Act No. 89-874, 1989 Regular Session, may be sold, and, with written approval from the Department, an alligator farmer may utilize any product from a captive-reared alligator less than four feet in length that dies from natural causes, but only in accordance with the following restrictions:

(i) No farmer shall skin any alligator unless such alligator shall have been approved for skinning in writing by the Director of the Game and Fish Division or his authorized agent. Records must be provided to verify that each alligator to be harvested was hatched and captive-reared on the farm or otherwise obtained from a legal source.

(ii) Any alligator killed under authority of this section shall be tagged immediately with a tag furnished by the Department. Such tag shall remain attached to the alligator hide until finally processed by the fabricator. It shall be unlawful for any farmer or processor to possess untagged alligator hides.

(iii) Property rights to identifying tags issued to the farmer shall be vested in the Department, and tags shall remain the property of the State. Unused tags shall be returned to the Department within 15 days of completion of the harvest. Possession of any identifying alligator tags by persons other than licensed farmers shall be unlawful.

(iv) Alligators shall be skinned only at a specific site approved by the Director of the Game and Fish Division and shall be skinned only in accordance with special skinning instructions issued by the Department. Only those hides which have been skinned in accordance with these instructions shall be approved for sale. Hides so taken may be held at the specified skinning site until the date of the sale.

(v) The meat of any alligator legally harvested may be consumed by the farmer or his immediate family but shall not be sold or transferred except as provided in this rule below.

(e) Sale of Live Alligators:

1. Alligator farmers licensed under the provisions of Act No. 89-874, 1989 Regular Session, may sell, barter, exchange, give or loan any live alligators of at least four feet in length covered by his license provided a permit is first obtained from the Department. If sold, bartered, or exchanged in interstate commerce or foreign trade, legal requirements of the state or country involved in the transaction must also be satisfied.

2. The request for such permits must contain the name and address of the proposed buyer, a reference to the buyer's license number or other authority for possession, and shall further describe the alligator(s) by length, belly size, and sex, if known.

(f) Sale of Alligator Meat:

1. Alligator meat that is lawfully acquired through production on a licensed alligator farm may be sold to wholesale or retail food distributors, food and nonfood meat processors, restaurants and canneries, provided that:

(i) Any alligator meat sold to the above type business shall be packaged in cardboard cartons, and each carton shall be sealed with a label as specified by the Department that indicates that it contains alligator meat, the number of pounds of meat enclosed, the names of the seller and buyer, the tag number corresponding to the alligator hide from which the meat was taken, and the date of sale. No more than five pounds of meat shall be included per carton and cartons shall be used only one time.

(ii) Failure to properly mark cartons of alligator meat or possession of alligator meat in cartons improperly marked shall be considered a violation.

(iii) Alligator farmers shall maintain written records of all alligator meat sales on standard forms supplied by the Department. These records shall be open to inspection by Department personnel and shall include for each carton of meat sold the data indicated on the carton label as specified in subparagraph (f)1.(i) of this rule.

(iv) All alligator meat purchased by the type business listed hereinabove shall be retained in original carton until the meat is prepared for consumption or processing.

(v) All cartons containing alligator meat labeled in accordance with these regulations shall be shipped only within the State of Alabama or to those states or countries allowing the sale of alligator meat.

(vi) Alligator farmers handling alligator meat for human consumption shall comply with the sanitation requirements of federal, state, or local authorities.

(g) Sale of Alligator Hides and Other Products:

1. Alligator hides and other products, except meat, may be sold in accordance with the following:

(i) Alligator farmers may sell the hides, feet, viscera or skeletal parts of alligators when all such sales, with the exception of retail sales to the consumer, are documented to show the kind and quantity of items sold and the name and address of each buyer (and, in addition, the alligator parts dealer license number if sold for resale). Any packaged alligator parts must be sealed with a Department approved label that indicates the hide tag number(s) of the alligator(s) from which the parts came, the names and addresses of the buyer and seller, the date of the sale, and the number and kind of parts included.

(ii) Any alligator skull sold shall be permanently visibly labeled with the identifying alligator tag number of the alligator from which the skull was taken and the name of the alligator farmer selling the skull.

(iii) Products made from alligator skins or other alligator parts and documentary evidence of their acquisition shall be available for inspection upon requests of Department personnel.

(iv) No person shall sell any hide or other product manufactured from a crocodilian species which has been declared to be endangered or threatened by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Author: James D. Martin

Ala. Admin. Code r. 220-2-.96

Effective March 2, 1990.

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 9-2-7, 9-2-8. Act No. 89-874, 1989 Regular Session.

PENALTY: As provided by law.