31 Tex. Admin. Code § 65.49 - Alligators
(a) Open seasons and bag limits. In all
counties there is a general open season for alligator.
(1) In Angelina, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers,
Galveston, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Nacogdoches,
Newton, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity,
Tyler and Victoria counties, and on all properties for which the department has
issued hide tags, the open season is from September 10 through September
30.
(2) In all other counties, the
open season is from April 1 - June 30.
(3) Bag limit:
(A) on a property for which the department
has issued hide tags: one alligator per unused hide tag in possession;
or
(B) in counties with the season
provided under paragraph (2) of this subsection: one alligator per person per
license year, unless hide tags have been issued for the property.
(b) Harvest.
(1) No person may hunt an alligator in this
state unless that person is in possession of a valid hunting license.
(2) No person may hunt an alligator on a
property for which the department has issued hide tags unless the person is in
physical possession of at least one valid, unused alligator hide tag per taking
device employed by the person.
(3)
An alligator captured on a taking device must be immediately killed,
documented, and tagged as required by this subsection.
(4) If an alligator is killed on a property
for which hide tags have been issued, the alligator must be immediately tagged
with a hide tag within ten inches of the tip of the alligator's tail.
(5) Except in the counties listed in
subsection (a)(1) of this section, a person may kill an alligator without
possessing a hide tag, provided:
(A) the
alligator is taken on private property with the consent of the owner of the
property; and
(B) the department
has not issued hide tags for the property.
(6) A person who kills an alligator under the
provisions of paragraph (5) of this subsection shall immediately affix a
completed Wildlife Resource Document to the alligator, which shall accompany
the alligator until the alligator is permanently tagged with a hide tag as
provided in subsection (c)(5) of this section.
(c) Tag issuance and usage.
(1) Except as provided in this subchapter or
Subchapter P of this chapter, no person may possess an untagged alligator hide
or undocumented alligator part.
(2)
A hide tag issued for a property is valid only for that property.
(3) Landowners may apply for hide tags from
the department by submitting a completed application form (PWD 369) to the
department. In Angelina, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin,
Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange,
Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler and Victoria
counties, tag issuance shall be based on annual surveys of alligator habitat
and populations. In all other counties, tag issuance to landowners shall be on
a case-by-case basis following a biological assessment by a department
biologist.
(4) Except as provided
in paragraph (5) of this subsection, hunters shall obtain hide tags from the
landowner.
(5) A person who takes
an alligator under subsection (b)(5) of this section shall permanently tag the
alligator immediately upon receipt of a hide tag from the department.
(d) Management Tag. The department
may issue management tags to a landowner with a department-approved alligator
management plan that specifies a harvest quota of sub-adult alligators. All
provisions of this subchapter pertaining to tags and tagging also apply to
management tags.
(e) Reports;
return of unused tags.
(1) Except as provided
in subsections (b)(6) and (c)(5) of this section, a person who takes an
alligator shall complete an alligator hide tag report immediately upon harvest.
The report shall be submitted to the department within seven days of
harvest.
(2) A person who takes an
alligator under subsection (b)(5) of this section shall complete and submit to
the department an alligator hide tag report, accompanied by the fee specified
in §
53.8 of this title (relating to
Alligator Licenses, Permits, Stamps, and Tags, within 72 hours of
harvest.
(3) A person to whom the
department has issued more than one hide tag shall file an annual report on a
form supplied or approved by the department accounting for all tags within 10
working days following the close of the open season in the county for which the
tags were issued. All unused tags shall be returned with this report.
(4) The department may refuse to issue
additional hide tags to any person who:
(A)
does not file the reports as required by this section;
(B) does not return unused hide tags as
required by this section; or
(C)
fails to pay the fee for a hide tag.
(f) Sale. Alligators taken under this
subchapter may be sold only to a person possessing either a valid wholesale
alligator dealer permit or a valid alligator farmer permit.
(g) Exception.
(1) This subchapter shall not prohibit a
person from killing an alligator:
(A) in
immediate defense of his or her life or the lives of others; or
(B) to protect livestock or other domestic
animals from imminent injury or death.
(2) Alligators killed under this subsection
shall be immediately reported to the department.
(h) Alligator feeding. It is an offense for
any person to intentionally feed a free-ranging alligator, except for a
licensed hunter or control hunter lawfully engaged at the time in the activity
of hunting alligators. This paragraph does not apply to federal, state, or
local government employees in the performance of official
duties.
Notes
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