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Gators have rights too: Investigation launched after 12½ft alligator was 'inhumanely' hauled from mini-golf pond and was ridden on by up to 30 people before being euthanized

An investigation has been launched after around 30 people were seen posing and riding on top of an alligator, which had been tied up to b...

An investigation has been launched after around 30 people were seen posing and riding on top of an alligator, which had been tied up to be removed from a mini-golf course. 
The gator was crawling around the greens on the course at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, and an animal control company, Critter Management, was brought in to remove it.
But photos and videos have appeared online that show the animal being maltreated after it was captured.
Joey Maffo from Critter Management said that dozens gathered around the scene as his team attempted to capture the 12½-foot gator, estimated to be 80 to 100 years old, which had been hiding in the murky waters of a nearby lagoon. 
The male alligator was eventually euthanized but not before up to 30 of the 100 people present on the course were seen riding the reptile, with some even lying down on its back. 
Around one hundred people gathered as 12½ft male alligator estimated to be 80 to 100 years old was removed from the property of Legendary Golf mini-golf course on Hilton Head Island
Around one hundred people gathered as 12½ft male alligator estimated to be 80 to 100 years old was removed from the property of Legendary Golf mini-golf course on Hilton Head Island
There is anger over videos and photos that show several bystanders taking turns to sit on the animal's back after its limbs and jaws were bound
There is anger over videos and photos that show several bystanders taking turns to sit on the animal's back after its limbs and jaws were bound
Around 30 people sat on the gator's back which weighed more than 1,000 lbs
Around 30 people sat on the gator's back which weighed more than 1,000 lbs
The company that captured the reptile, Critter Management, has since apologized for the treatment
The company that captured the reptile, Critter Management, has since apologized for the treatment

Town Manager Steve Riley said he was 'deeply concerned about the egregious and unacceptable behavior' that took place as the gator was in the process of being taken away. Critter Management is also being investigated. 
Tensions were so high that on Friday protesters took to the streets upset at how the gator had been treated. 
'As a Town, we advocate for the protection of wildlife and the natural resources of the environment we live in,' Riley wrote in a statement.
'It is unfortunate that people at the scene chose to make a spectacle of this situation and behave in a manner completely contrary to the core values and beliefs we, as Island residents, hold dear.' 
The outrageous behavior started after the gator's limbs and jaws had been secured, and Critter Management staff invited people standing close to take a closer look. 
'That was actually on me,' Maffo said to the Island Packet. 'As soon as I taped the gator, I thought it was a good opportunity to get people to understand how big and powerful it was.'
People ended up sitting on the gator's back while they took photos and video of the creature while Maffo held its mouth shut.  
Social media saw the videos and photos circulate and later in the afternoon the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office responded.
People stood by to take photos of the gator being dragged from the murky waster of a pond
People stood by to take photos of the gator being dragged from the murky waster of a pond
The company that carried out the capture, Critter Management, has come under fire
The reptile was eventually euthanized
The company that carried out the capture, Critter Management, has come under fire
Two deputies were at the scene as the alligator was loaded onto a tow truck and taken away.  
Although large alligators that are removed from places where people normally gather are usually shot and killed, the photos that were sent around angered people who saw the treatment as a form of abuse.  
'I didn't know how it would look to all the people online,' 19-year-old Maffo said. 
'They're just tourists. They want to see a gator up close … I was just trying to get everybody to understand how big and powerful they are.'
Maffo has since apologized for the incident.
'It certainly wasn't our intent to exploit this alligator,' Joe Maffo said. 'We had no intentions of making it look like a fiasco.'  
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has said although the capture and euthanasia of the reptile were perfectly legal, it did not appreciate the overall manner in which the animal was treated. 
'The capture and handling of alligators should be left to experienced professionals, and allowing untrained people to interact with an alligator is irresponsible and puts those people at risk,' alligator biologist Morgan Hart said in a statement. 
'Agents contracted by SCDNR are not allowed to involve untrained members of the public in the capture or handling of alligators.' 
On Friday afternoon, a protest was scheduled over the gator's treatment. 
'Let Them Live, Let Them Cross, Respect Our Wildlife' the event was titled.
'This will begin awareness and then we will attend a town hall meeting and begin to bring this up until we are heard and something changes,' the event's description says.
'This is no way to treat our wildlife and we need to make some changes. Let's come together.'