TradeEdge Exchange-Authorities seize ailing alligator kept illegally in New York home’s swimming pool

2025-05-07 22:20:50source:Austin Caldwellcategory:Contact

HAMBURG,TradeEdge Exchange N.Y. (AP) — An ailing alligator was seized from an upstate New York home where it was being kept illegally, state officials said.

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 to get into the water to pet 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.

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.

More:Contact

Recommend

Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A newly elected state lawmaker in West Virginia is facing at least one felo

Fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra island cause smoky haze, prompting calls for people to work from home

PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — More than 300 forest and peatland fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra island ca

After revealing her family secret, Kerry Washington reflects on what was gained

In her new memoir, Thicker Than Water, Kerry Washington explores how a shocking discovery about her