Rancher Gets Arrested For Shooting Alligator That Threatened His Horses & Burros

[protectionist]

Wow. A guy shoots an alligator (big one) that was threatening his animals (horses & burros), on his own property, and winds up getting arrested for it. This is absurd. What happened to the 2nd amendment ? Do today's law enforcement authorities think the founding fathers created it just for show ?

What happened to the concept of self-defense ? Have Sumpter County prosecutors gone nuts ? Or is this a case of overzealous animal protectionists, who also happen to be gun-haters? I am an animal lover myself. I'm a member of the ASPCA, and I donate $19/month to them, despite being low income. I would not shoot an alligator without just cause of self-defense, and neither would Reginald Blanton, who just got arrested for just trying to protect his animals. What about THEIR welfare ?

And what about Jack Hildreth who was attacked by the alligator, and was bitten so bad he had to be hospitalized for 10 days, with multiple injuries, including a broken neck ?

To top off the crazieness of this, when wildlife officials and police arrived, they killed the alligator - but nobody is arresting them.

Blanton’s neighbors said they are on his side. "I would have done the same thing if it was out there with my horses," Danielle Jackson told WTSP. "I assumed you were allowed to protect your livestock and your animals. I didn’t know it was illegal," Kelly Cruz told the TV outlet, echoing Jackson’s sentiments.

Man arrested for shooting alligator to protect livestock

A Sumter County man says he is unfairly being charged with violating the state's alligator poaching law after he tried to protect his livestock.

www.fox10phoenix.com

Rancher Shoots Alligator That Threatened His Horses – And Gets Arrested

A Florida man was arrested for shooting an aggressive alligator, on his own property, that threatened not only his horses but also his stepson. Reginald Blanton, 74, could face up to five years in jail for shooting an alligator that eventually died. Using a 9mm handgun, Blanton took four shots...

www.offthegridnews.com

 

[DudleySmith]

#1: He's white, and

#2: He has a gun and no criminal record, and thus a threat to the Democrats' base of looters and thieves.

#3: this is a pretext to take his guns away and deny him owning any in the future. Soon he and his family will be burglarized and maybe killed, now that half the country knows he's being disarmed. It's all upside for Democrats and 'Progressives'.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Alligators are a protected species.

 

[irosie91]

fret not----he will beat the rap

 

[beautress]

Would the incident have been anywhere near the University of Florida which has the alligator for its mascot?

 

[beautress]

Alligators are a protected species.

That alligator attacked the Rancher's son as well as the livestock, which makes it self-defense in my book. People should have the right to protect themselves from a deadly beast imho.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

That alligator attacked the Rancher's son as well as the livestock, which makes it self-defense in my book. People should have the right to protect themselves from a deadly beast imho.

Yes. Of course. But Alligators are a protected species.

I was a bit surprised to find out that in Arizona rattlesnakes are a protected species even if one bites you.

 

[mamooth]

Sumter County, Florida, has the oldest average resident age of any county in the USA, and is thus solid Trump country.

Hence the statism.

 

[hjmick]

The law is the law.

They shut down roads here when one crosses.

Odds are he'll pay a fine and it will all be over.

 

[DukeU]

Alligators are a protected species.

Humans are a protected species also, murdering them is illegal.

Self defense is different.

 

[beautress]

The law is the law.

They shut down roads here when one crosses.

Odds are he'll pay a fine and it will all be over.

They oughta pay him for putting the life of a predator ahead of the life of a man and his livestock. I urge the State of Florida to allow self-preservation in such a circumstance. Everyone there is uptight about the loss of life due to Hurricane Ian. What terrible times these are for Floridians, man or beast.

 

[Concerned American]

Wow. A guy shoots an alligator (big one) that was threatening his animals (horses & burros), on his own property, and winds up getting arrested for it. This is absurd. What happened to the 2nd amendment ? Do today's law enforcement authorities think the founding fathers created it just for show ?

What happened to the concept of self-defense ? Have Sumpter County prosecutors gone nuts ? Or is this a case of overzealous animal protectionists, who also happen to be gun-haters? I am an animal lover myself. I'm a member of the ASPCA, and I donate $19/month to them, despite being low income. I would not shoot an alligator without just cause of self-defense, and neither would Reginald Blanton, who just got arrested for just trying to protect his animals. What about THEIR welfare ?

And what about Jack Hildreth who was attacked by the alligator, and was bitten so bad he had to be hospitalized for 10 days, with multiple injuries, including a broken neck ?

To top off the crazieness of this, when wildlife officials and police arrived, they killed the alligator - but nobody is arresting them.

Blanton’s neighbors said they are on his side. "I would have done the same thing if it was out there with my horses," Danielle Jackson told WTSP. "I assumed you were allowed to protect your livestock and your animals. I didn’t know it was illegal," Kelly Cruz told the TV outlet, echoing Jackson’s sentiments.

Man arrested for shooting alligator to protect livestock

A Sumter County man says he is unfairly being charged with violating the state's alligator poaching law after he tried to protect his livestock.

www.fox10phoenix.com

Rancher Shoots Alligator That Threatened His Horses – And Gets Arrested

A Florida man was arrested for shooting an aggressive alligator, on his own property, that threatened not only his horses but also his stepson. Reginald Blanton, 74, could face up to five years in jail for shooting an alligator that eventually died. Using a 9mm handgun, Blanton took four shots...

www.offthegridnews.com

C,mon man. He endangered that poor gator. A better option would have been to capture a democrat and feed him to the gator. Gators won't kill unless they're hungry, so the horses and burros would have been safe for another week and he would have performed a public service by removing one more democrat from the gene pool.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Wow. A guy shoots an alligator (big one) that was threatening his animals (horses & burros), on his own property, and winds up getting arrested for it. This is absurd. What happened to the 2nd amendment ? Do today's law enforcement authorities think the founding fathers created it just for show ?

What happened to the concept of self-defense ? Have Sumpter County prosecutors gone nuts ? Or is this a case of overzealous animal protectionists, who also happen to be gun-haters? I am an animal lover myself. I'm a member of the ASPCA, and I donate $19/month to them, despite being low income. I would not shoot an alligator without just cause of self-defense, and neither would Reginald Blanton, who just got arrested for just trying to protect his animals. What about THEIR welfare ?

And what about Jack Hildreth who was attacked by the alligator, and was bitten so bad he had to be hospitalized for 10 days, with multiple injuries, including a broken neck ?

To top off the crazieness of this, when wildlife officials and police arrived, they killed the alligator - but nobody is arresting them.

Blanton’s neighbors said they are on his side. "I would have done the same thing if it was out there with my horses," Danielle Jackson told WTSP. "I assumed you were allowed to protect your livestock and your animals. I didn’t know it was illegal," Kelly Cruz told the TV outlet, echoing Jackson’s sentiments.

Man arrested for shooting alligator to protect livestock

A Sumter County man says he is unfairly being charged with violating the state's alligator poaching law after he tried to protect his livestock.

www.fox10phoenix.com

Rancher Shoots Alligator That Threatened His Horses – And Gets Arrested

A Florida man was arrested for shooting an aggressive alligator, on his own property, that threatened not only his horses but also his stepson. Reginald Blanton, 74, could face up to five years in jail for shooting an alligator that eventually died. Using a 9mm handgun, Blanton took four shots...

www.offthegridnews.com

Why are you even talking about the 2nd Amendment when it states in the hyperlink to your first story that's he's being charged for violating one of Florida's poaching laws.

The charges do sound bogus though in light of the fact that he was protecting his livestock and not actually out "poaching" but this really has nothing to do with gun laws, the 2nd Amendment or self defense (or defense of another). Property crimes are different and his livestock are considered "property" not an entity covered by the 2nd or self-defense/defense of another laws.

 

[multivita-man]

Alligators are a protected species.

Yeah but he stood his ground...in FLORIDA.

 

[toobfreak]

Wow. A guy shoots an alligator (big one) that was threatening his animals (horses & burros), on his own property, and winds up getting arrested for it.

It all comes back down to stupid bureaucrats who all they know or care about is whether a state fee was paid to them or not to shoot gators, with no thought at all that a person might occaisionally need to shoot one on the moment out of self-defense.

 

[Concerned American]

Humans are a protected species also, murdering them is illegal.

Not in blue state shitholes. It is open season for MURDER of the unborn in those states.

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

#1: He's white, and

#2: He has a gun and no criminal record, and thus a threat to the Democrats' base of looters and thieves.

#3: this is a pretext to take his guns away and deny him owning any in the future. Soon he and his family will be burglarized and maybe killed, now that half the country knows he's being disarmed. It's all upside for Democrats and 'Progressives'.

Ok. To be fair here.

1) Was the gator just chillin close to the cows (which outweigh it by a couple of hundred pounds)..or was it trying to take down one of them?
2) The gator rose up and lunged at him???...in a field?? (not in the water??)...

Look. If the dude was poaching gators just cop to it and pay the fine. Instead, he lies...and the thing got away...
"But after FWC trapped the gator and investigated, the state attorney charged him for possessing the alligator after FWC wrote in its report that he admitted to knowing that he couldn't just shoot it without a license".

 

[protectionist]

Alligators are a protected species.

Being a protected species, only means you can't hunt them without a permit. It doesn't mean you can't defend yourself and your pets, on your own property.

These prosecutors are sicko idiots.

 

[protectionist]

That alligator attacked the Rancher's son as well as the livestock, which makes it self-defense in my book. People should have the right to protect themselves from a deadly beast imho.

It's also self-defense in that the alligator was aggressive toward the animals, Defending others is self-defense also.

 

[protectionist]

Yes. Of course. But Alligators are a protected species.

This wasn't hunting.