Against Alligator Prohibition by Benjamin Seevers (9/8/2023)

Against Alligator Prohibition

Amidst multiple sightings of alligators in the Kiski river, Kiski Township supervisors are drafting an ordinance to ban alligator ownership in the Township. This action should be seen for what it is, a senseless restriction on liberty motivated by unwarranted fear.

The  15-page proposal  doesn't only regulate gators; "new regulations pertaining to dogs, household and farm pets and animals and reptiles are addressed." This is being used as an opportunity to strengthen government control over other household pets.  Intrusions like this are completely unwarranted.

The above article cites the fear that residents have over alligators residing in the township. Township Secretary Bono stated, "They (residents) complaining mostly comment that they can’t believe people have alligators. And the one neighbor is fearful that alligators may get loose and end up in her yard. We’ve got to do something.” 

No, Bono. You don't have to do anything. In fact, you shouldn't.

Fear is no legitimate basis for regulating others. 

Some are scared that alligators affect their property values. While that is a completely unverifiable claim grounded in fear, nobody has a right to a high property value. Property values are merely the assessment of another of the true market price of one's property. There is no obligation for assessors to assess property values highly. These residents are essentially asking the township to restrict the peaceful ownership of alligators in the area in order to hopefully increase their property values. In other words, they want the government to harm some to benefit themselves. This is a clear example of corruption. 

For an area that is predominantly conservative, it is surprising that so many support wealth redistributions like this. 

Ultimately, the township must ask themselves, "What happens to the alligators residing as pets in the township if this ordinance is passed?" Will unknown gator owners dump them in the Kiski river in order to avoid being fined under this proposed law? Nobody knows the answer to this question. The township supervisors certainly don't.

Government "pest" control measures are nothing new. They have a long history of failure. Snake breeders in India released their snakes into the streets of Delhi after the government canceled its reward program for snake tails, dramatically increasing the cobra population, the opposite result the British government wanted (More can be read on pest control measures here). If banned in Kiski township, the alligator population of the Kiski river may increase from 1 or 2 to an unknown, higher number. 

Setting aside the issue of prohibitions, is there really an alligator problem in the Kiski river? As noted in my blog post from August, this is nothing new. Gators have been spotted in this region for years, some captured, others never seen again. Chomper, the gator reclaimed in August, was docile and 4-feet long. The current gator on the prowl, named Neo, is merely two feet long (hardly a threat to anyone). Neo is domesticated as well, which will probably make him as docile as Chomper. There have been no shortage of sightings as well; however, many of these can be dismissed as hysteria (When people know there are alligators afoot, every log, shadow, or whatever will be perceived as a gator).

The real concern here is the cold. They want to reclaim the gator before it perishes in the winter. To me, it sounds like the issue will solve itself. There is no need to get worked up over this incident. 

The gator will probably leave people alone and, if not reclaimed, die in the winter. No harm, no foul. After the winter, we probably won't see another report like this for another few years. Unfortunately, ever since people became aware of peaceful gator ownership in the township in 2021, there have been those who wanted to regulate it. 

That is the basic impulse in local government. Despite the pleas and rational against regulation, there is always the control freak who says, "We have to do something."

Hayward, an owner of gators in Kiski township, takes care of them. A regulation would explicitly harm him and his gators. For what? To punish irresponsible alligator owners for a one-time incident that won't lead to anyone being harmed? 

Yes, this regulation is senseless, irresponsible, and will only harm alligator owners and their gators to alleviate the fear of a few control freak residents. I implore the Kiski township supervisors to reject this ordinance outright.