Humanity is too dumb to live.
HOW IS THIS NOT ILLEGAL!?!?:eek::eek::eek::smack::smack::smack:
In related news, The Center for Disease Control issued a public statement today, in which they took a controversial stand by saying “On the whole, we don’t recommend people contract smallpox.”
The owner tapes the gator’s mouth shut and only uses small gators. I think that makes it worse for me. Poor gators. 
I had no idea their claws or tails could be taped shut. Huh.
Maybe one of the parents will get a good whack upside the head for being dumb enough to pick this as party entertainment, and word will get out.
This. I thought gators in Florida were all state property and protected. Can a private party own a gator in Florida? Whose gators are these?
I saw a captive gator once, at a dolphin show place in Ft. Lauderdale. They explained to the crowds that they don’t own the gator, they are just in charge of the care and custody, pursuant to a whole truckload of regulations and permits. And they don’t do gator-wrestling shows any more (which apparently was allowed pursuant to another whole truckload of regs and permits) – because too many of their gator wrestlers were getting bitten.
The gator they showed the day I was there was a newly hatched one. The guy carried it around in the palm of his hand so everybody could get a look. It was about the size of his little finger, and looked just like a very small lizard.
ETA: If you get your children’s genes expunged from the gene pool, do you get a Darwin Award for that?
Dude, they make shoes and suitcases out of those things.
Anybody can phone in a complaint to the FWC about a gator for any reason, and that gator (or an unlucky one nearby) is automatically labeled a nuisance gator. Once a gator has been labeled a nuisance gator, the FWC dispatches a private trapper to trap/catch/kill the (a) gator. At that point, the gator becomes the property of the trapper to do with as they please, as long as they follow the relevant laws for killing/harvesting it or keeping it in captivity.
Once a nuisance gator is caught, the one main thing that is forbidden by law to do with it is for the trapper to release that gator back into the wild anywhere. So, for a wild gator that gives someone the heebie-jeebies for any reason, being declared a nuisance gator is almost always a death sentence, and if they’re really lucky, they get life-without-parole in some sort of zoo/sanctuary/alligator-wrestling show.
My theory is that it never occurred to any legislators that anyone would need that particular issue written down either from the “don’t make the gator’s angry” perspective, or the “don’t have dangerous and moronic birthday parties” angle.
Note that alligators can deliver a mighty whack with their tails, even with jaws taped shut.
Yeah, it’s animal abuse. It’s kind of sad that the whole outcry will focus on dangers to the children; those kids are already doomed, having parents like that. It’s the gators we still have a chance to save!
That makes sense. If you’re going to get smallpox, go strictly month-to-month; don’t sign any contract until you decide you really want smallpox.
The article the OP links to is too British.
It says you can have a partyy like this for 100 pounds. It seemed odd to me at first that a guy in Tampa was asking to be paid in pounds. At the current rate, that’s $160, which sems odd. I assume he’s really charging $150.
And the article says
What does it mean to “swim them”? Does this mean that the alligators swim in a pool at the party, or that the kids can swim in the water with them, or something else?
I assumre it’s the second possibility. That’s something that would make it exciting, and necessary to tape the mouths shut, and get other people upset. Otherwise, it’s like hiring the guy from Creepy Creatures who brings the bearded dragon and the tarantula to your party. But I’d like to be sure.
So the Florida fellow is not luring children to swim with gators – he is luring children to swim with nuisance gators.
Looks more like a petting zoo. - YouTube
He’s not luring children to alligators. He’s just bringing the alligators to the children.
And their friends.
In related news, it’s illegal to ride a manatee in Florida:
Cute, cuddly manatees are verboten, but you can “swim” an alligator. Maybe they’re punishing the 'gators for being “nuisance” gators.
That actually looks pretty cool. I’d totally throw a party like that.
And it looks very, very different than some of the posts here are painting it as.
I’m pretty sure that was a typo.
A typo for what?
I think this is a Britishism.
Swim with them.
As I alluded to previously, for the gators it’s pretty much a choice between getting pimped out for entertainment purposes, or death.
And gators like this quickly get accustomed to people, and really aren’t being stressed out much by going for a swim with the kiddies. As long as they’re kept well-fed, gators are like honey badger - they just don’t give a shit.
ETA: Although I suspect a “swim with honey badger” party wouldn’t end well.