“The first recreational alligator hunt in Louisiana in more than half a century is about to commence in the swamps of that state, with up to 5,000 hopeful trappers facing strict rules in order to snare a reptile.

The state’s fish and wildlife commission banned alligator hunting in 1962 to allow the species to recover after decades of unregulated killings for meat and hides dropped numbers there to below 100,000.

Now, with the population above an estimated 3 million in the wild, Louisiana is issuing public permits to licensed hunters for a month-long season beginning 1 October, across eight zones statewide.”

From The Guardian.