A 30-year-old alligator was confiscated from a residence in New York.
Officers from the environmental conservation seized the 340kg, 11-foot-long reptile named Albert from a home in Hamburg, south of Buffalo, on Wednesday.
The owner, Tony Cavallaro, set up a swimming pool for the gator and allowed people to enter and touch it, as reported by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Albert has ‘blindness in both eyes’ and spinal problems, 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 licence to keep the alligator expired in 2021.
State environmental officials have not decided whether to bring charges.
Mr Cavallaro pledged to reclaim Albert.
He insisted he treated the reptile just like one of his children and that he never endangered anyone.
‘I’m not dangerous, I’m not being unsafe with people,’ Mr Cavallaro added.
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