A blind alligator was removed from a home where it was kept in a swimming pool in upstate New York.
The 750-pound, 11-foot-long alligator was found by environmental conservation police officers on Wednesday along with an in-ground swimming pool where people and children were able to play with the 30-year-old animal. However, the gator had several ailments, including blindness in both eyes and spinal complications.
The officers sent the animal to a licensed caretaker, but will eventually go to a place where it can get permanent care. The owner had a license to house the animal, but it expired in 2021. New York State officials also stated the holding area did not meet safety standards which posed a potentially serious issue for people in the area.
According to the Associated Press, the alligator is named Albert and his owner, Tony Cavallaro, will be fighting to have him returned. He claimed he treated Albert like his own child and never put anyone in danger.
“I’m not dangerous. I’m not being unsafe with people,” Cavallaro said. State environmental officials are still deciding if Cavallaro should face any charges.
An old video of a man trapping an alligator in a garbage bin has resurfaced online thanks to the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer that referenced the viral moment. In the video, Florida man Eugene Bozzi got rid of the gator by carefully trapping it in the bin.
"Let me know when the head goes inside," he can be heard saying in the clip. As the gator entered the bin, Bozzi quickly slid the rest of it inside and set it free in a nearby body of water.
