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, 11-foot-long alligator on Wednesday from a home in Hamburg, south of Buffalo.
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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.
In this photo provided by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, DEC officers secure an 11-foot (3.4-meter) alligator for transport after it was seized from a home where it was being kept illegally in Hamburg, N.Y., on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. The home’s owner had built an addition and installed an in-ground swimming pool for the 30-year-old alligator, which has blindness in both eyes and spinal complications, among other health issues. (New York DEC via AP)
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.
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Officials believe a lethargic 4-foot alligator found in Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn in February 2023 was likely an abandoned pet.