Environmental conservation police seized an 11-foot long blind alligator on Thursday that the owner was letting play with human guests, including kids.
Owner Tony Cavallaro had installed an in-ground swimming pool inside of his home in Hamburg, New York, where he’d been keeping the 30 year-old alligator on an expired permit.
The owner “allegedly allowed members of the public to get into the water to pet the unsecured alligator,” according to a press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Public contact with such an animal is prohibited by DEC guidelines.
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The scaly creature, which has “blindness in both eyes” and spinal complications, has been remanded to a licensed caretaker until it can find a permanent home.
Cavallaro told the Associated Press that he treated Albert, the 750-pound alligator, like a child. “I’m not dangerous. I’m not being unsafe with people,” he said. State environmental officials have yet to decide whether they will press charges.