(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.
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