Hours Extended For 2011 Gator Hunting Season
FORT MYERS, Fla. (CBS4) -- Hunters are getting a little extra daylight to track alligators this year.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted Wednesday to allow gator hunting between the hours of 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. when the season starts Aug. 15. Gator hunting season runs through Nov. 1.
Previous rules restricted hunters to one hour before sunset until one hour after sunrise.
Agency spokesman Tony Young says they considered what other states allowed and conducted surveys in Florida before deciding to extend the hours.
Almost 7,000 permits will be issued for alligator hunting season.
Young says extended hours won't hurt the state's alligator population, estimated at about a million. Each permitted hunter is limited to two alligators no matter how many hours they hunt.
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