Florida alligator wrangler Bob Barrett thinks that that mixing
alligators and 8-year-olds is a party. Critics argue that it is bad
parenting.
For just $175, Barrett will bring a gator directly to a home.


Tampa-area parents looking for something more than a clown or pizza
for their children’s birthday parties now need look no further than
Barrett’s Alligator Attraction, which will bring an alligator straight
to their backyard pool to swim with the children.
“It just took off like wildfire, Barrett said. “Everybody loves having the gator pool parties.”


Barrett runs The Alligator Attraction of Madeira Beach, Fla., where visitors can pay to hold and feed rescued baby gators.


He says the inspiration for his party idea came when business was
sluggish in the summer and he saw other options that were available for
children’s parties.
“If you’re 9, 10 or 11 years old, you’ve already had the ‘jumparoo’
house, the bounce house, you’ve had the pizza party, you’ve had the
clown party,”
Barrett said. “You get to have a pool party with a gator. It’s a very popular party.”


This is all safe, said Barrett, who tapes the baby gators’ mouths
shut before the party. He says that because the muscles they use to open
their mouths are weak, there is virtually no risk of children being
bitten.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has determined
that Barrett isn’t doing anything illegal, but added in a statement, “We
will say that this is not something that we encourage.”