HAMBURG, N.Y. (AP) — An ailing alligator was seized from an upstate New York home where it was being kept illegally, state officials said.
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Environmental conservation police officers seized the 750-pound (340-kilogram), 11-foot-long (3.4-meter-long) alligator on Wednesday from a home in Hamburg, south of Buffalo.
The home’s owner built an addition and installed an in-ground swimming pool for the 30-year-old alligator and allowed people, including children, to get into 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 issues. The reptile was sent to a licensed caretaker until a place is found where it can receive permanent care, according to a release from the agency.
The owner’s state license to keep the alligator expired in 2021. The state determined at that time the alligator’s holding area failed to meet safety standards. Officers took action this week after learning the “extent at which the owner was seriously endangering the public,” according to a statement from the agency.
State environmental officials haven’t decided whether to bring charges.
Officials believe a lethargic 4-foot (1.2-meter) alligator found in Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn in February 2023 was likely an abandoned pet.
Looks like Chuck Schumer.
“where it can receive permanent care” at the JefferyEpstein Quick Care Clinic.
The reptile self-identified as a Democratic Party Contender. This is another insubordination attempt by Trump! Lock him up!
Far more people get killed by dogs than by alligators. Why is it so easy to get a license for a dog, but they make it difficult for alligators? I heard in NYC they don’t even let anyone have boa constrictors or pythons, which are much better pets than dogs or cats. They don’t eat much and can be kept easily, plus no allergies like dogs and cats.