ARKANSAS, USA — According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), by the time the 2023 Arkansas alligator season ended, hunters had wrangled over 200 alligators, "swamping the old record of 174 taken in 2020."
AGFC Biologist Mark Barbee, who has coordinated the season since it began in 2007 said the increased count wasn't so surprising since more hunting tags were issued this year than ever before.
“We added a few more alligators to the private land quotas this year to let people with alligators on their properties remove them through the hunt instead of it becoming a nuisance wildlife issue ... “Every year we’ll have hunters who draw the public land permits and hold out for a trophy alligator,” Barbee said. “Some won’t settle for less."
Public land hunters, however, only filled half of the allotted permits available to them. Barbee explained that the 50 percent success rate isn’t unusual for the public land hunt, however.
Alligator hunting is by permit only in Arkansas, with most public areas closed to hunting. The season allows for hunting from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise during the last two weekends each September. All alligators had to have been snared or harpooned by hand.
According to harvest totals, private land hunters took full advantage of the opportunity, filling all quotas by the hunt’s end.
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