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Buffalo, NY – An upstate New York man whose 750-pound alligator was seized is suing the state Department of Environmental Conservation in an effort to get it back, saying the agency was wrong not to renew the license for the animal he kept for more. than 30 years.
Conservation officers entered Tony Cavallaro’s home in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg March, he sedated the 11-foot alligator named Albert, gagged it and left with it, saying that Cavallaro’s license to keep the reptile had expired in 2021 and had not been renewed.
In his lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court, Cavallaro says the agency’s denial of his license was not “based in fact,” his attorney, Peter Kooshoian, said Tuesday.
“We hope that he will get his license to get the animal back, and from there we would like to either negotiate or litigate to get the animal back to Mr. Cavallaro because we think he should have a valid license. to that time, as it had for the last 30 years,” said Kooshoian.
The DEC does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesman said by email when asked for a response to the claims. He previously said that Albert’s enclosure did not adequately ensure that he would not come into contact with people, and that the alligator was afflicted with “eye blindness and spinal complications.” – condition Cavallaro.
Officers’ seizure of the alligator, caught on video, and Cavallaro’s videos and photos of him petting and kissing Albert in the custom indoor pool he built led to an outpouring of support for the duo. “Bring Albert Home” signs also dot some neighborhood lawns and more than 4,500 followers follow Cavallaro’s efforts on Facebook.
“I hope we resolve this thing. That’s all I can do,” Cavallaro said of the decision to file a lawsuit. “It’s overwhelming me. … It’s ruined the whole year for me, it’s destroyed it.
Cavallaro bought the American alligator at a reptile show in Ohio in 1990 when Albert was two months old. She considers him an emotional support animal and “gentle giant”.
The license became an issue after a change in the regulations for owning dangerous animals adopted by the DEC in 2020. After Cavallaro’s license expired in 2021, the agency said he did not realize the area to keep in accordance with the updated standards to ensure that the alligator did not. they pose a danger to the public.
Cavallaro said the DEC failed to follow its own licensing requirements governing people who already owned a wild animal when the new regulation went into effect.
Albert was taken to Gator Country, a rescue facility in Beaumont, Texas, where visitors can interact with alligators and other reptiles.
“You can interact with them in all different ways. It’s like a kick right in my teeth,” Cavallaro said.
