PETA Offers Reward Up To $5,000 For Information On Impaled Florida Alligator

FORT MYERS (CBSMiami) – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is offering a reward of up to $5,000 in the case of an abused Florida alligator which was found impaled by arrows and tied up with a rope in Fort Myers.

The injured alligator, more than 11-feet long, was found by a backyard pond near a home on April 28 with two arrows in its neck and a rope tied around its feet and mouth.

Wildlife officials immediately took the animal to receive treatment, but the sheriff's office has no leads about the identity of the attacker(s).

"Someone shot this alligator twice in the neck, tied the animal up, and left him or her to suffer and die," says PETA Vice President Colleen O'Brien. "PETA urges anyone with information to come forward immediately so that the abuser can be held accountable and stopped from hurting anyone else."

Anyone with information is asked to call Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS. Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward of up to $3,000 if an arrest and conviction are made.

The Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission helped a nuisance alligator trapper remove the alligator which was transferred alive to a farm.

Florida does have a legal alligator hunting season which runs Aug. 15 through Nov. 1 and you must have a permit.