Living 32 Years With Alligators, New York Residents Don't Want to Move to Another Heart

A resident of New York, USA, is struggling to get back his alligator which was confiscated by officers. He is supported by 120,000 citizens.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Hidup 32 Tahun Bersama Aligator, Warga New York Tak Mau Pindah ke Lain Hati

Illustration

Buffalo

Tony Cavallaro, a resident of the city of Buffalo, State of New York, USA, is fighting to get his pet, an alligator, back to him. Recently, his reptile was caught by conservation officers and taken somewhere. The reason officers confiscated the alligator was that Cavallaro was deemed not to have complied with the conditions of a permit to keep animals classified as dangerous.

For Cavallaro (64), the alligator is like his own baby that he has been caring for since it was little. Cavallaro bought the alligator at a reptile exhibition in Ohio when the reptile was two months old. He named the reptile Albert.

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Currently, Albert is 34 years old. Practically, Cavallaro has lived with Albert for more than half of his life. He regards Albert as the "creature that determines his emotional soul".

Even though Albert is classified as dangerous animals, according to Cavallaro, the reptile never showed aggressive or dangerous behavior. In Cavallaro's eyes, Albert was a giant baby who was gentle and harmless to anyone. He said that he once found Albert curled up with his dog in his dog's bed when the reptile was still small.

"He is just a big baby," said Cavallaro on Wednesday (20/3/2024), while showing a photo of Albert gripping onto an alligator doll with his teeth and resting his chin on a pile of pillows.

Conservation officials visited Cavallaro at his home in the suburbs of Buffalo a week ago with a court order. Officials sedated the 3.6 meter, 340 kilogram alligator, gagged its mouth, and took it away in a van.

AP/NEW YORK DEC

In the photo provided by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, an officer secures an alligator belonging to Tony Cavallaro for seizure from his home in Hamburg, the State of New York, USA, on March 13, 2024.

Albert must be taken away because, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Cavallaro's license to keep Albert has expired in 2021. Cavallaro said, he has tried to renew the license.

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However, it is known that he allows others to also take care of the alligator, and even goes into the pool with it. When he goes on vacation, his 84-year-old mother helps him take care of Albert. Meanwhile, his neighbors often play with Albert, including taking photos together.

During the license renewal process, he failed to convince DEC that Albert was not a danger to the surrounding community. This provided DEC with grounds to revoke the maintenance license under the rules regarding the maintenance of animals that fall under the category of dangerous.

AP/TONY CAVALLARO

Mrs. Tony Cavallaro is pictured with her pet alligator at her home in Hamburg, New York, USA.

In order to bring back Albert, Cavallaro has hired a lawyer. His neighbor and also a foreign citizen on social media support his efforts. An online petition signed by more than 120,000 people and fans have made shirts and buttons with the words "Free Albert".

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A friend of Cavallaro also wrote a song for Albert titled "Oh Albert, Please Come Home". Cavallaro's friend sang the song while playing the guitar, recorded it, and uploaded it to Facebook.

As Cavallaro struggles, it turns out that DEC often receives reports of reptiles - which are likely being kept as pets by US residents - being discarded in parks or rivers. DEC is tasked with rescuing and caring for them. (AP)