What you should know
- State environmental officials say an 11-foot alligator was confiscated from a home in upstate New York where it was kept illegally.
- State Environmental Conservation Police officers seized the 750-pound alligator Wednesday from a home in Hamburg, south of Buffalo, New York.
- The state Department of Environmental Conservation says the homeowner built an addition and installed an in-ground pool for the 30-year-old alligator and allowed people to enter the water to pet the reptile.
NEW YORK — A sick alligator was confiscated from a home in upstate New York where it was kept illegally, state officials said.
Environmental conservation police officers seized the 750-pound (340-kilogram), 11-foot-long (3.4-meter) alligator Wednesday from a home in Hamburg, south of Buffalo.
The homeowner built an addition and installed an in-ground pool for the 30-year-old alligator and allowed people, including children, to enter the water with the reptile, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The alligator has “blindness in both eyes” and spinal complications, among other health problems. The reptile was sent to a licensed caretaker until a place can be found where it can receive permanent care, according to a statement from the agency.
The owner’s state license to keep the alligator expired in 2021. The state determined at that time that the alligator’s holding area did not meet safety standards. Officers took action this week after learning of the “extent to which the owner was seriously endangering the public,” according to a statement from the agency.
Tony Cavallaro, who told The Associated Press that the alligator Albert had been with him since the 1990s, vowed to fight for his return. Cavallaro said he treated the alligator as if he were his son and that he never put anyone in danger.
“I’m not dangerous. “I’m not being insecure with people,” Cavallaro said.
State environmental officials have not decided whether they will file charges.
Authorities believe a lethargic 4-foot (1.2-meter) alligator found in Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn in February 2023 was likely an abandoned pet.
2024-03-16 02:33:29
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