Swamp People

I go fishing almost every week. I do it for sport, and also for a chance to be really connected to the place that I call home. Florida is an amazing place to be, and a fine state in which to raise a child. There are hundreds of places to put a boat in the water just miles from our front door.


So I enjoy the outdoors, but I hate this show Swamp People. I know that alligators can become pests. I also know that they are probably the greatest success story in the history of America's native animal preservation efforts. They were hunted almost to extinction by the 1930s, but our state wildlife offices believe their population is now somewhere closer to two million. We see them quite a bit, and I've had some interesting interactions with them throughout the years.


I also know that they taste good.


This show glorifies lazy hunting. It's just ridiculous.


I wish none of these idiots had tags. I wish not a single one of them had a chance to pull alligators up from the bottom with their trot lines, and I really wish none of them could shoot them in the face and drag their corpses into their boats.


Most of all, I wish those idiots at the History Channel hadn't given them a chance to become heroes.


It's just not right. Hunting is one thing, and I understand that harvesting these creatures is a means of earning a living, but the manner in which they're taken is revolting. Watch the show if it's your thing, but I'm done with it. Too discouraging for my tastes...