A New York man fights to get his 750-pound pet alligator back after the state seizes the animal that loves people but “doesn't eat.”

usa news

exclusive

by alex oliveira

It's really hard to lose a beloved pet!

An upstate New York man says he's fighting to get his beloved pet 750-pound alligator back after state agents seized it from his home in a raid and treated him like “some kind of drug lord.” Told.

Tony Cavallaro told the Post he was confident “thousands of supporters” would help retrieve Albert, a 34-year-old alligator seized from his Hamburg home by state Department of Environmental Protection officials last week. He said he was doing it.

“Oh my god, they're making me look like a drug lord like Escobar. That's how they treat me,” Cavallaro said in a phone interview.

“Why do they have to go to such extremes?” he told the Post. “They had full body armor and he had two assault shotguns…It looked like a drug enforcement agency bust. They looked like a SWAT team in a terrorist attack. ”

An online petition calling for Albert to be reunited with his owner has garnered more than 100,000 signatures, and supporters are selling “Free Albert” T-shirts and bumper stickers to spread the word and support Cavallaro's legal battle. Started production.

The DEC alleges that on March 13, Cavallaro's home in the Hamburg suburb, about 25 miles south of downtown Buffalo, “allowed members of the public to enter the water to pet an unsecured alligator.” He appeared with a warrant to do so.

After taping Albert's jaw shut, staff loaded the 11-foot-long alligator into a van and transported it to a temporary home with licensed handlers, but Cavallaro said only DEC was likely to harm the pet. I think so.

“Poor alligator, he doesn't know what's going on. He's such a gentle giant, it's unbelievable,” Cavallaro said. “Who knows what damage they could have done to him.”

Cavallaro said he had kept Albert since the croc was two months old, and after years of showing him on “educational shows,” he retired the animal as he aged into a large indoor enclosure. The luxurious pen comes complete with a pond, its own windows and lighting, which he installed in his home.

Word of this unusual pet spread through the neighborhood and throughout the Buffalo community, and curious onlookers started coming to visit, with Cavallaro occasionally allowing Albert to enter the cage and pet him, and sometimes walking with the alligator. Sometimes he even jumped into the pool.

Those visits are said to have prompted the DEC to take action, alleging that Cavallaro was “seriously endangering the public.”

Officials also cited that he had been keeping Albert without a permit since 2021, although Cavallaro had a permit for years but would not renew it after animal ownership laws changed. He said he encountered resistance when trying to work with DEC for the purpose.

Cavallaro admitted that he allowed some people to pet and swim with Albert (his Facebook page prominently features a photo of his mother standing next to a crocodile). The animal, published in 2007, has denied ever harming anyone and has vehemently denied authorities' claims that the animal is a crocodile. I'm blind.

“[Albert] I love my friends so much that it seems like my compassion got in the way of the law. But I never put anyone in danger,” Cavallaro said, adding that he didn't let anyone he didn't know or trust near the alligator.

Cavallaro, who described Albert as having a “great personality” who enjoys cuddles, said anyone who encounters the crocodile knows he is harmless.

“If you meet him, you'll love him… He just loves people. He loves everyone. Not to eat, but to be together,” he said. . After the attack, he said, his friend told him: “If I didn't know that alligators are so gentle, would you think I would get into a pool with a gator that big?”
The newspaper reached out to DEC for comment.

The crocodile enthusiast said he was overwhelmed with love for Albert.

“I knew there would be a lot of support because everyone loves my alligator,” Cavallaro said, adding that he doubts the DEC is keeping Albert's whereabouts quiet to keep protesters away. I added that there was.

“If we knew where he was, there would probably be 20,000 people outside holding placards protesting 'Free Albert!' Free Albert!”

He believes that on his day in court, these supporters will be there in full force.

“This is going to be like the largest peaceful protest we've ever seen across the country,” he said.