12-Foot Alligator Spotted Crossing Road In South Carolina, Euthanized For 'Nuisance'

The decision of euthanizing an alligator after it was spotted crossing a road in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, last week, has caused public outrage.

Officials with the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources (SCDNR) responded to the intersection of Grand Dunes Blvd. and the Highway 17 Bypass, Wednesday, July 22, after receiving reports of a huge alligator crossing the road. The gator was captured and put down by the authorities.

SCDNR spokesperson David Lucas told ABC-affiliated television station WPDE that the South Carolina law states that an alligator that is deemed a "nuisance" has to be put down after being captured.

Russell Cavender, a local wildlife advocate, took to Facebook to share the information about the alligator.

"Well again it has happened, a 12ft gator simply lost and just crossing a road in the northern end of Myrtle beach was captured and destroyed! A 12ft gator,, he must’ve been over 50 years old. Most likely living at the dunes golf course for decades. And it was killed for simply crossing a road, lost or confused by all the roads and homes placed in the habitat that used to belong to them!" Cavender wrote on Facebook.

"Why the hell does this continue to happen? 12ft 600lbs, an old life destroyed only because of an ignorant law that says that an alligator crossing a road is a nuisance," Cavender added.

Speaking to the television station about the same, Cavender said, "Whether they're crossing the road, lost in the pool, in someone's backyard, it's considered a nuisance alligator. We are developing this area quickly and we are destroying their habitat fast, very fast. They have nowhere else to go. They have to cross a road to find another place to live."

He told the channel that his contract with the SCDNR was terminated last year because he wasn’t ready to kill the alligators that he was called to capture.

"I always had the ability to find a safe place for the alligator and for the people. A lot of gators have died since I lost my contract last year," he told WPDE.