Alligator farming now is legal in Sumter County after county commissioners approved an ordinance Tuesday night adding alligators to the list of farm animals.
The farms will be permitted in agricultural and rural residential zoning districts.
“We have no permits or standard associated with alligator farming,” said Karl Holley, the county’s director of development services, before the ordinance was adopted.
He said the state regulates alligator farms, setting requirements for containment, separation from adjacent property owners, animal treatment and sanitation.
Holley said the issue arose when a property owner questioned whether it was legal for a neighbor to raise alligators.
He said alligators can be raised on small tracts of land, which is why the farms can be allowed on land zoned rural residential.
Raising alligators for their hides and meat has become more popular in Florida and the number of alligator farms has risen from four in 1977 to 63 in 2014.
But alligator farming apparently is not a sure path to wealth.
“Because the alligator hide and meat market is extremely volatile, alligator farming is a very tenuous business,” says the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on its web site.
Only 30 farmers each year are allowed to collect wild alligator eggs. Unlike other livestock, alligators are carnivorous and must be fed animal protein. About 400 pounds of protein are needed to grow a six-foot alligator. Female alligators breed in the spring and egg laying occurs in June and July.
In other business, commissioners:
· Approved rezoning 249 acres of commercial land and 14.4 acres of residential land to industrial near State Road 44 and Interstate 75. Holley said the owner believes the land may best be used for warehousing, distribution or light industrial use.
· Heard complaints from residents about dumpster divers collecting personal information near Webster and the poor condition of County Road 575.