BUFFALO, N.Y. — 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 erred in not renewing the animal’s license. pet he had cared for for over 30 years.
Conservation officers entered Tony Cavallaro’s home in the Hamburg suburb of Buffalo in March, sedated the 11-foot crocodile named Albert, taped its mouth shut and left with it, saying Cavallaro’s license to keep the reptile expired in 2021 and was not renewed.
In his lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court, Cavallaro says the agency’s denial of his license was not “based on facts,” his attorney, Peter Kooshoian, said Tuesday.
“We hope he gets his license to reinstate the animal, and from there we would like to negotiate or litigate to have the animal returned to Mr. Cavallaro because we think he should have a valid license. at the time, as I had been doing for the past 30 years,” Kooshoian said.
The DEC does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson said in an email when asked for a response to the claims. It previously said that Albert’s confinement did not sufficiently guarantee that he would not come into contact with people and that the crocodile suffered from “blindness in both eyes and spinal complications” – conditions that Cavallaro disputes.
The officers’ seizure of the alligator, captured 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 pair. “Bring Albert Home” signs still dot lawns in some neighborhoods, and more than 4,500 followers follow Cavallaro’s efforts on Facebook.
“I hope we resolve this. That’s all I can do,” Cavallaro said of the decision to sue. “This is overwhelming me. … It ruined my whole year, destroyed it.”
Cavallaro purchased the American crocodile at a reptile show in Ohio in 1990, when Albert was two months old. He considers him an emotional support animal and a “gentle giant.”
The license became an issue after a change in dangerous animal possession regulations adopted by the DEC in 2020. After Cavallaro’s license expired in 2021, the agency said he failed to bring the holding area up to updated standards to ensure that the crocodile does not pose a danger to the public.
Cavallaro said the DEC did not comply with its own licensing requirements governing people who already owned a wild animal when the new regulations took 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.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
