AUTHORITIES SEIZE BLIND, 750LB ALLIGATOR FROM HAMBURG, NEW YORK HOME
I’ve heard of people keeping the odd pet alligator from time to time. Well, not really. Except for Sonny Burnett, the cover name for the iconic character in the TV series, Miami Vice. But Hamburg, New York is pretty darn far away from the appletini beaches of Miami. Yet “Hamburg” being in New York certainly does sound fictional, despite how many times I’ve driven past signs pointing to it. But the town is real and evidently it’s also real that someone living there was keeping a blind, 750lb alligator in their home. That’s hard to believe. But authorities just seized the “gentle giant.”
Read More: WCGW? Peoria PD Uses Call of Duty In Recruitment Video
BLIND, 750LB ALLIGATOR WAS 11 FEET LONG, LIVED IN ITS OWN IN-GROUND POOL
Having an alligator as a pet isn’t exactly the most legal thing to do in most places, including Hamburg. I’ll just assume that includes the city in Germany, as well. But an alligator is one thing. An 11 foot long, 750 pound blind alligator is something else entirely. And the situation doesn’t exactly sound to fair or humane for this huge, dangerous animal. Besides being blind in both eyes, it had spinal complications. But he did live in his own in-ground swimming pool that the home and former alligator keeper had built as an addition.
Related:
OWNER WOULD LET PEOPLE GET IN THE POOL WITH THE BLIND GATOR TO PET IT
And, well, if you might be questioning the home and former alligator keeper’s judgement, you should also know that he allowed people to get into the pool with the alligator to pet it. And no, the blind, 750lb gator wasn’t secured. In other words, people swam with this thing, were close enough to touch it, and the animal was free to move around. But here’s the even crazier thing. It is actually legal to have an alligator as a pet in New York, so long as you have a DEC license for it. And the license for this sightless monster expired in 2021.
So where will this alligator go? To a licensed caretaker who will take proper care of it until it can go somewhere more permanent. And safe.
