A sick alligator was seized from an upstate New York home where it was being illegally kept, state officials said.
Environmental conservation police officers seized the 340 kg, 3.4 meter long alligator on Wednesday (local time) 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 Conservation Environmental.
The alligator has “blindness in both eyes” and spinal complications, among other health problems. The reptile has been sent to a licensed keeper 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 area to keep the alligator did not meet safety standards. Officials took action this week after learning of the “degree to which the owner was seriously endangering the public,” according to a statement from the agency.
State environmental officials have not decided whether to bring charges.
Officials believe a lethargic 1.2m alligator found in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake in February 2023 was likely an abandoned pet.
