Video Scripts
Title: Alligator Farming in Florida
Length: 1:45
They don't drive tractors...
Their fields are under 5 feet of water...
And their livestock eats raw meat...
And Florida's alligator farmers wouldn't want it any other way. From Italy to Japan, Spain to the U.S., American alligator leather and leather products are in demand.
Ironically, the demand for American alligator products is actually helping this species grow and flourish.
Funded by sales of alligator products, as well the licenses and fees paid by farmers, trappers, and hunters, conservation and management programs have helped bring the American alligator back -- roaring back -- from the brink of extinction.
In fact, Florida’s alligator population has exploded since the protective legislation and industry programs that were implemented in the 1970s.
Now more than a million strong in Florida alone, the alligator has been off the endangered species list for more than a decade. Alligator farms have replaced the unrestrained hunting that nearly drove wild alligators to extinction.
Now farming methods, including supervised egg harvesting and controlled environmental conditions on the farm, allow alligators to grow at a faster pace. Hatched in incubators, farm-raised alligators mature after two years, growing to approximately four feet long. Larger sizes ranging from 6 to 12 feet come from regulated alligator trapping programs, and annual public hunts. By supplying the world with high-quality leather from farm-raised alligators, the farmers are helping the wild population flourish.
Purchasing an alligator leather handbag, pair of shoes or briefcase adds elegance and classic style to your wardrobe. Now, it's also helping a once-threatened species make a remarkable comeback.
From Tallahassee, this is Gary Seamans reporting.
