Overview
- A newly obtained Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission record set shows that at least 414 nuisance alligators have been removed from Walt Disney World property since the fatal attack on June 14, 2016.
- Removals spiked in 2016 and 2017 with 83 and 57 captures respectively, then settled to an average of about 36 per year from 2018–2025, and at least 12 were removed in the first four months of 2026.
- All removals were handled through the FWC’s Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP), which treats animals four feet or longer as nuisance animals and dispatches state‑contracted trappers to capture them.
- Trappers receive a $50 state stipend per capture and most animals are euthanized or transferred to licensed alligator farms, zoos, or preserves because relocation often fails as gators try to return to their original habitat.
- Wildlife officials stress these localized removals have little effect on Florida’s roughly 1.3 million alligators, while Disney maintains fencing, rock barriers, warning signs and reinforced Cast Member training to limit guest access to waterside hazards.