It's Illegal to Feed Wild Alligators in Florida — and It Could Get Them Killed

Florida is home to an estimated 1.3 million wild alligators, found in all 67 counties and virtually every body of freshwater in the state. By the 1960s, unregulated hunting and habitat destruction had driven the American alligator toward extinction, prompting federal and state protections. Florida first codified the ban on feeding wild alligators in 1978 (Chapter 78-101), as part of a broader wildlife conservation framework, with the law later strengthened by amendments in 1991, 1999, and 2006.

The reason the law exists is both scientific and pragmatic: when humans feed alligators, the animals lose their instinctive fear of people and begin to associate humans with food. This behavioral shift dramatically increases the risk of aggressive encounters — not just with the person doing the feeding, but with any human the alligator encounters afterward. Many nuisance alligator complaints filed with the FWC trace back to prior feeding by residents or tourists. Once an alligator is deemed a nuisance threat, it is typically removed and euthanized — meaning a well-meaning snack tossed into a canal can cost a gator its life.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) actively enforces this law and operates a dedicated Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) and a 24/7 hotline (866-FWC-GATOR) for reports of threatening alligators. The law also covers American crocodiles, a rarer and more endangered species also found in southern Florida. Licensed wildlife parks and zoos with FWC permits are the only legal venues where members of the public can interact with or feed captive crocodilians.