Feeding alligators is illegal in Mississippi.
Feeding alligators will condition wild alligators to associate humans and human activity with a source of food. The results can be very dangerous especially when unaware people are near a body of water where alligators have been fed.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks received several complaints in recent weeks regarding people feeding alligators in multiple locations across the state. Multiple cases have been recently investigated by the department as well as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
In one recent case, personnel from the Mississippi department and the USFWS euthanized several alligators that had been conditioned to feeding from a bridge on a public road. The alligator carcasses will be used for educational purposes at National Wildlife Refuge offices.
The Mississippi policy is to euthanize any alligator, regardless of size, that has been conditioned to hand-feeding because of the public safety liability issues created by the illegal feeding.
Alligators will naturally avoid humans and human activity. There has never been a documented alligator attack on a human in Mississippi, but feeding alligators is a tremendous risk to public safety. In light of recent alligator attacks in Florida and South Carolina, the department urges the public to call and report anyone feeding alligators or give the locations where people are known to feed alligators.
Never throw food items, which include discarding fish parts around boathouses or boat ramps, into the waters alligators are known to inhabit.
To report information about anyone feeding alligators, call the 24 hour hotline at (800) 237-6278. Callers only need to leave the information, not their names.
For more information regarding alligators, visit www.mdwfp.com/alligator.