Feeding hot dogs to gators lands Treasure Coast man in hot water
May 28th, 2010 by TCPalm.comState wildlife officers said they caught a man feeding hot dogs to alligators in his back yard.
Matthew P. Bucci, 39, of the 5400 block of Northwest Empress Circle, Port St. Lucie, was charged with feeding alligators, a misdemeanor offense, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.
Port St. Lucie Officials said feeding alligators can lead to them associating food with humans.
Officers went to Bucci’s neighborhood Tuesday after complaints from residents about the gators. About 8 p.m. they said they watched Bucci walk out to the canal behind his home and prop open a back gate. The officers said when Bucci shook a plastic bag of hot dogs in the air, a 6-foot-long alligator crawled into his back yard.
The officers captured the alligator, which was euthanized as part of state policy. Any alligator larger than 4 feet long and considered a nuisance is killed, the commission said.
To report a nuisance alligator, call (866) FWC-GATOR (392-4286).
Subscribe to TCoastTalk's RSS Feed
Browse the photo galleries here
May 28th, 2010 at 8:16 am
They should have euthanized the id1ot feeding them instead.
May 28th, 2010 at 8:44 am
I agree with jp, he killed the gator with stupidity
May 28th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Maybe they should make him swim with the gators (and bags of hot dogs tied to his suit).
May 28th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Uhhh….the state of FL killed the alligator. The article even states that FL has a policy to do so just because they get bigger than 4 ft. Too bad for the gator they weren’t born a little cuter and fuzzier then PETA would give a damn about their ‘rights’ too.
May 28th, 2010 at 11:30 am
The the alligator chew on his weenie!
May 28th, 2010 at 11:40 am
More and more we are living in a police state.What next vid cameras in our homes?
May 28th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Those Gators have been eating on My Dawgs for the past several years and I’m sick of it !!!!
May 28th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
another vote here to have the idiot euth-ed.
May 28th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
So easy for those who know nothing to judge. I agree with FN if Peta was involved they would have saved them. This came about because as usual a nosy neighbor with nothing better to do then sit around and find someone to report. I know these people and they are true animal lovers. There was no feeding done, yes the thought might have been there, but this was an aggressive gator from another area acting out. These are young people who would never even kill an ant. I am sorry for the young couple and wish that they could have put the neighbor behind bars just for the purpose of having something for him to then focus on.
May 28th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Sandy and FN…. lets put you in a yard with a 6 foot gator and someone feeding the gator hot dogs… and see how you feel then. Really, this isn’t a dog or cat, we are talking big sharp teeth and nasty temper with strong strong bodies. If the guy hadn’t been feeding the gator, maybe he wouldn’t have been a problem. Let’s start with the 39 year old idiot and go from there… and you can be the ones to ask the gators what they think… IF they truly loved animals, they wouldn’t feed a wild anything…. and nosey neighbor…wow I would have called…no questions asked! There are kids and dogs/cats in my neighborhood and gators can’t tell the difference. sheer ignorance.
May 28th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
[...] Feeding hot dogs to gators lands Treasure Coast man in hot water | Treasure Coast Talk [...]
May 29th, 2010 at 2:22 am
This is a bad idea gators attack people because of dummies like this guy. They should make feeding the gators a felony offense. I used to live in South Florida but moved back to Louisiana, let me tell you feeding a gator is like feeding a stray cat after a couple of feedings they feel they are owed the meal. This is not a big deal with a cat but a gator won’t take “I’m all out of hot dogs” and back down they will eat you or your neighbors pets and kids. This law is very necessary.
May 29th, 2010 at 6:48 am
Even though the man was stupid about feeding the gator, and yes, I wouldn’t have done it either. I’m a huge animal lover and hate it when any animal, sharp teeth or not, gets put down because of someone’s stupid act. I lived in FL when I was a little kid, but if I still lived there today, you’d probably see me living near a zoo or working at one. It’s stupid how people can be idiots at times. Me and my brother feed any animal, unless we know their dangerous, that’s hungry or anything. If I had a mansion, damn, there’d be so many animals I wouldn’t be able to count them!
My point is that it’s stupid to put down animals, even if there’s a law, just because of someone’s stupid act. Put them behind bars, but don’t punish the animal for it.
May 29th, 2010 at 10:24 am
My Ex and I lived in Florida many years ago. He was fond of feeding an alligator who inhabited a small pond near our neighborhood. This alligator knew the sound of our vehicle and so usually would be waiting for us to drive up to its pond.
One day, we drove up to the pond and the alligator was nowhere to be seen. My ex got out of the car holding a nice chunk of beef (I know, I know), next thing I saw was the alligator, who had been waiting for us in a concealed spot. My ex threw the meat at the animal and got back in the car. He was really lucky that he had not moved from the car door and could get in fast. As it was, the alligator arrived at the car maybe 2 seconds after my ex got back in. We drove away and never returned. I think that feeding those guys in the wild, so to speak, is just dumb. Or uninformed.
May 29th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
i use to also live in south fl and i to am guilty of feeding the gators from time to time. i moved away after one night i got into it with a gator over some bad meat he did not like and he almost did me in, but hey gators got to eat too. smile
May 29th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
associating food with humans?
How about associating Humans AS FOOD.
Gators are not pets
May 30th, 2010 at 12:16 am
[...] feed the big (possibly dangerous) bears (or any other wild animal).This full story is at Feeding hot dogs to gators lands Treasure Coast man in hot water.Tags: alligators, florida | Category: WildLife Leave a Reply [...]
May 30th, 2010 at 8:57 am
You can bet nobody entered this man’s home from the backyard while that gator was in the water there. Is that gator more a threat than a gun in the hands of the old neighbor with alcohol or alzheimers? Maybe the plan was to eat the gatortail and not the hotdogs. How did the oldtimers get gatortail for the grill?
May 30th, 2010 at 9:04 am
What is wrong with the Treasure Coast that they don’t allow ‘Carolina guard dogs’? Nothing keeps away unwanted ‘guests’ like a few wild animals in your yard! Are oil industry billionaires the only ‘wildcats’ allowed on Palm Beach?
May 30th, 2010 at 9:33 am
Is it legal to feed pit bulls to alligators being that they are similar in their dispositions?
May 30th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
LSU and BAMA will kill the Gators this year. Urban Meyer has been feeding them hotdogs. Tebow is proof. GEAUX TIGERS!
May 30th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Gators typically reach sexual maturity and become extremely territorial upon reaching 6 feet in length. The size alone makes them dangerous. Couple that with a heavy dose of testoserone and you have a catastrophe waiting to happen. This is why a gator of 6 feet in length that has been fed and has lost the fear of humans is considered a nuisance. It is sad but humans are the very cause of destruction rather than relocation of larger gators. Stop the feeding and save a life.
May 31st, 2010 at 1:26 am
They killed the gator just for being longer than four feet? WTF?! Round them up and send them to a zoo.
May 31st, 2010 at 1:38 am
They should have allowed the feeding to continue. The gator would have died soon enough. Have you seen the list of ingrediants in those things.
May 31st, 2010 at 1:50 am
I still say don’t put the animals to sleep just because of someone’s stupid act.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:19 pm
For all those who do not really know the gator I must say you need to educate yourself about them. The gator was not killed because it was 6 or more feet long, it was killed because it was not afraid of humans which was caused by a human feeding it. I love animals also but ask yourself if you were walking your dog and a gator attacked and ate your dog right in front of you like a woman in Florida experienced, or being dragged in a pond from the death grip of a gator and loosing only a foot if your lucky or seeing a loved one drowned in a channel from a gator’s grip and you could not do anything about it. This is all horror truths that happen way to often in Florida because people feed gators and they loose the fear of humans and they attack. There was one family held hostage in their home by a gator that tried to break down the door to get inside. Innocent people and pets become victims.
May 31st, 2010 at 11:59 pm
The general consensus of these replies is appalling. Does anyone understand why it is against the law to feed Alligators? If they begin to associate humans with food, then the next logical step is to think of people as food. Alligators are not smart. People tend to associate human emotions and thought processes with animals and it often leads to ignorance or trouble. Alligators are purely instinctive creatures. Their brain is geared more toward their senses (sight, smell, feel) than any “thought”. They can be “trained” in a sense. Once they identify a food source, they will “remember” that food source and attempt to take advantage of that in the future. This is all part of their adaptability that has kept them roaming this planet for tens of millions of years. What happens when another person comes to the waters edge? The gator thinks this could be a food source and comes to investigate. If the person does not feed it, but presents an opportunity, like squatting or sitting at the water’s edge, you present a very attractive meal for this ambush hunter.
Do not feed the gators!! There is a reason for this law and it is generally well known that you do not feed any wild animal. Bears, Panthers, Bobcats, Alligators, Coyotes, Racoons! Do not feed them! You are simply signing these animals death warrant when you do and in the process you might be signing some child or other persons death warrant as well. I hope this guy, and the entire community learn from this experience! Respect and enjoy wildlife, but do not encourage dangerous behavior!
June 1st, 2010 at 1:17 am
Matt’s got Johnsonville Brats, Johnsonville Brats !!
June 1st, 2010 at 3:46 am
I never knew alligators were afraid of humans in the first place. A zoo would have been the perfect place for the gator. Euthanizing it was cruel and unusual punishment. Even moving it back into the swamps would have been a better alternative. Can anyone blame it for being born and trying to survive? Isn’t that the goal of humans as well?
June 1st, 2010 at 9:03 am
Bet he will make a nice pair of boots!!!
June 1st, 2010 at 1:17 pm
I agree with Katie. We can’t blame the gator for being born and trying to survive, that’s what we have to do too. A zoo is the correct place for them, not death. And Northen Guy, that’s just horrible. It’s not right to kill an animal just for clothes!
October 23rd, 2010 at 5:17 pm
I like your viewpoint. My reading has shown your points to be true, then again, I have also heard the opposite from other sites like this one. Do you have any ideas for finding more smart information on natural health or related topics? I would most appreciate it!
December 14th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Muschamp said he failed to know however if he is calling plays on defense. Probably is determined by if they can get Kirby Smart? I hope he gets him. In addition, Bama DC Kirby Smart was on that staff as well — safeties coach.My Posts: China’s IPR Protection is Appreciated
March 27th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
My brother recommended I might like this website. He used to be totally right. This submit truly made my day. You can not consider simply how a lot time I had spent for this info! Thank you!