I love to take photographs of the world around me and I have sold and published a modest few.  My images of the alligators and the trappers activities around Osprey Lake are not intended to endorse or speak against what they do.  I have been contacted by animal lovers who rightfully point out that "these" alligators have not harmed anyone and they suggest that they should be left alone.  Alternatively, a few more have contacted me and thanked me for calling the trappers although I must tell them I was not the one that originally called them.

      My wife and I both love animals.  We will spend an inordinate amount of time chasing a toad or lizard out from our garage for no other reason than knowing it will die if left inside.  On the other hand, we both love a good steak and we are very grateful that there are people that will do what needs to be done so that we can buy and devour a delicious cut of beef when we want one.

      While Lynn and I would settle on just taking pictures of the alligators in Osprey Lake, we understand why others might want to call trappers and have them removed.  We have seen unsupervised kids swimming in the lake as well as children and pets enjoying the lake shore.  It does not make sense to me to wait until an inevitable problem happens to then decide to remove the alligators.  My feelings are also affected by the fact that virtually all of a trapped alligator is used.  I spoke to gentlemen delivering patio furniture today who both swore that alligator meat is delicious.  I think I'll take their word for it.

      What bothers me most is how an alligator is trapped.  Trapping sounds as if it is somehow caged and ensnared in a way that leaves it unharmed.  The truth is, some really nasty hooks are used.  They are intentionally embedded into the flesh of the animals and then used to drag the creatures to where we want them.  Alligators may bite at a trap and have a painful hook inside of them for hours or days until someone notices and the trapper can return to get it.  The smaller alligators are not killed right away for reasons I presume to keep the flesh as fresh as possible until it has to be killed.  Frankly, this bothers me just as much as when I see fish caught by a wicked hook.  Someone recently sounded as if they were bragging that they inadvertently hooked a turtle in its eye.

      I also think it is important to observe that the process to slaughter cattle is as gruesome as it can get.  I recall films in high school showing how cows are shot in the head with a bullet.  They are then strung up by a hook and slit from the neck down to drain the blood while the flesh is still flinching.  I would hope the process has been improved since I was a kid, but whatever movie our son saw in his high school caused him to become a vegetarian for several years.

      I don't think I have a better answer to "trap" alligators than the methods they use.  I don't have any judgments about those who eat alligator meat any more than I would of someone eating venison, calamari or turtle soup.  And, to bring the point home, I don't much mind if the alligator people are eating was removed from Osprey Lake.

      I am very glad that we have been created to form independent and sometimes dramatically different opinions.  I think the overall system allows all of us to keep ourselves in check.  I am glad there are those who look after the safety of the community and become concerned if an unusually high number of dangerous animals settle in our landscape.  I am also equally grateful that there are those who will rise to defend the rights of animals that are unable to defend themselves.  I would not want to live in a world with one and not the other.  In my view it is a crucial component to learning to live with one another in peace.