NE GENERAL, 

OFTEX~AS 

AUSTIN. TEXAS ws71 

October 9, 1969 

Honorable J. R. Singleton 

Executive Director 

Opinion NO. M-487 

Parks and Wildlife Department 

John H. Reagan Building 

Austin, Texas 78701 

Re: House Bill 1333 and 

Senate Bill 170, Acts 

6lst Leg., R.S. 1969, 

Ch. 599 and 657, concerning the possession 

Dear Mr. Singleton: 

and sale of alligators 

and alligator hides. 

You have requested an opinion from this office relating 

to the Acts designated above. 

House Bill No. 1333 (Acts 6lst Leg., R.S. 1969, Ch. 

599, p. 1788) was passed by the House May 15, 1969, and by 

the Senate May 22, 1969. 

June 10, 1969. 

It was approved by the Governor 

The pertinent portion of this Act reads: 

"Section 1. Section 1, Chapter 144, Acts of 

57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, as 

amended by Section 1, Chapter 418, Acts of the 

59th Legislature, Regular Session, 1965, is 

amended to read as follows: 

'Section 1. No person may possess, take, 

hunt, shoot, trap, kill, buy or sell, or attempt 

to take, shoot, trap, kill, buy, or sell an alligator in Chambers County before September 1, 

1975.'" 

Senate Bill No. 170 (Acts 6lst Leg. R.S. 1969, Ch. 657, 

1957) was passed by the Senate March 16, 1969. The House 

Fassed this Bill May 22, 1969, with an amendment, and the 

Senate concurred in the House amendment May 23, 1969. It was 

approved by the Governor June 12, 1969. Pertinent portions 

of this Act provide as follows: 

'Section 1. No person may take, catch, kill, 

buy, or sell, or attempt to take, catch, kill, 

buy, or sell, alligators or alligator hides, or 

may possess an alligator orits hide, in this' 

state, except that nothing in this law shall 

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Honorable J. R. Singleton Page 2 (M-487) 

prohibit the possession of such alligator hide 

in the form of a final processed and manufactured 

product. 

"Section 2. This Act does not prohibit the 

taking and possession of alligators or hides as 

f 

rovided by Article 913, Penal Code of Texas, 

925. 

"Section 3. Any person who shall have in 

his possession or control any live alligators 

or hides at the effective date of this Act shall 

have until January 1, 

the same. 

1970 to legally dispose of 

"Section 4. A person who violates this Act 

is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction 

is punishable by a fine of not less than $25.00 

nor more than $200.00. 

"Section 5. . . .Chapter 144, Acts of the 

57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, as 

amended by Chapter 418, Acts of the 59th Legislature, Regular Session, 1965; . . . are repealed." 

1. Y,ou first ask which of these two Acts is controlling 

in Chambers County. 

As properly stated in your letter, H.B. 1333 amended an 

earlier Act to extend the moratorium on the taking of alligators in Chambers County to 1975, while S.B. 170 provides 

similar protection for alligators in every county in the State 

and has no limited term. 

S.B. 170 was finally passed one day later than H.B. 

1333. Also Section 5 of S.B. 170 specifically repealed the 

prior Act which had been amended by H.B. 1333. 

Therefore, in answer to your first inquiry, it is our 

opinion that S.B. 170 is the controlling Act in Chambers 

County. 

2. You next ask how alligators and hides may be legally disposed of prior to January 1, 1970, as provided in 

Section 3 of S.B. 170. 

In connection with your second question, you state that 

the Department has taken the position that as legal methods 

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Honorable J. R. Singleton Page 3 (~-487) 

of such disposition the alligators and hides could be sold 

through commercial channels or given to zoological parks 

holding permits under Article 913, Vernon's Penal Code, 

or released into the wild. 

S.B. 170 became effective September 1, 1969; therefore, 

it is now illegal to possess, kill, buy or sell an alligator, 

or an alligator hide, in this State, except as provided in 

Article 913, and except further to possess alligator hides 

in the form of a final processed and manufactured product, 

as provided for in Section 1 of this Act. The four-month 

moratorium merely permits divesture of possession prior to 

January 1, 1970, and does not permit the killing of an alligator, the sale of an alligator, or the possession of an 

alligator hide in this State except as above stated. 

Thus, in reply to your second question, a person in 

possession of an alligator or hide may legally dispose of 

the same prior to January 1, 1970, by releasing the alligator into its wild natural habitat, by gift or sale in a 

state where it is not illegal to sell, purchase or possess 

the same, or by way of gift to the holder of a zoological 

permit as provided by Article 913. 

3. You next ask whether you may assume that after 

Januarr 1, 1970, there would be no legal means of disposing 

of an alligator-or hide in this State; 

In the absence of further legislation, 

the provisions of Article 913, and Section 1 

there will be no legal means of disposing of 

hide in this State after January 1, 1970. 

and except for 

of S.B. 170, 

an alligator or 

4. Your last question asks whether alligators which 

had been lawfully reduced to possession on or before August 

31, 1969, are to be considered as property of the State and 

subject to the conditions of S.B. 170 on September 1, 1969, 

and thereafter. 

The State, as trustee for the people, may exercise its 

power to enact regulations for the protection of wildlife, 

and as a means of preventing the evasion of such laws, extend 

its regulation to include wildlife that may have been lawfully taken or which had been raised in captivity. Cummings 

v. Commonwealth, 255 S.W.2d 997 (Ky.Appls, 1953). 

Therefore, alligators which had been lawfully reduced 

to possession on or before August 31, 1969, became subject 

to the provisions of S.B. 170 on and after September 1, 1969, 

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Honorable J. R. Singleton Page Ir (M-487) 

and under control of the State as a protected specie of 

wildlife. 

SUMMARY 

S.B. 170, Acts 6lst Leg., R.S. 1969, Ch. 657 

p. 1957, specifically repealed the Act amended by 

H.B. 1333, Acts 61st Leg., R.S. 1969, Ch. 599, 

p. 1788, extending the moratorium on the taking 

of alligatoss in Chambers County; thus, S.B. 170 

is the controlling Act in that County relating to 

alligators. 

Under the provisions of Section 3 of S.B. 170 

a person in possession of an alligator or hide may 

legally dispose of the same prior to January 1, 

1970, by releasing the alligator into its wild 

natural habitat, by gift or sale into a state where 

the sale, purchase or possession of same is not 

illegal, or by way of a gift to the holder of a 

zoological permit as provided by Article 913, 

Vernon's Pena,l Code. 

In the absence of further legislation, and 

except for the provisions of Article 913, Vernon's 

Penal Code, and Section 1 of S.B. 170, there will 

be no legal means of disposing of an alligator 

or hide in this State after January 1, 1970. 

Alligators which had been lawfully reduced to 

possession on or before August 31, 1969, became 

subject to the provisions of S.B. 170 on and after 

September 1, 1969, and wider control of the State 

as. a protected specie of wildlife. 

ney General of Texas 

Prepared by Monroe Clayton 

and Sam L. Jones, Jr. 

Assistant Attorneys General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

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Honorable J. R. Singleton Page 5 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

George Kelton, Vice-Chairman 

Richard Chote 

John Banks 

Wardlow Lane 

Vince Taylor 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

HAWTHORNE PHILLIPS 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

(M-487) 

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