According to authorities, the owner allowed the children to swim in the pool with Albert, who weighs 340 kilograms.
The New York State Department of Environmental Protection captured Albert's alligator this week.
This happened in a house in the city of Hamburg, south of the large city of Buffalo, on Wednesday, March 13.
– We heard that the homeowner has expanded the house and installed a swimming pool to house the approximately 30-year-old crocodile, the Ministry of Environment wrote. On their websites.
Albert weighs about 340 kilograms.
They added that he allowed people to go into the water to pet the crocodile without permission, which was not safe.
according to AP news agency Should the owner also allow children to pet the alligator.
Owner: – It's like family
Owner Tony Cavallaro spoke to locals 7 Buffalo News. He says he has had the alligator, named Albert, since 1990. He was just a baby at the time.
He confirms that the children took pictures in the pool with the alligator in the background, but he says that does not happen very often.
– I'm Albert's father, and that's all. He says he is like family to everyone.
Neighbors are also reacting to the issue.
– He did not hold crocodile gatherings or parties. He's just a really nice guy who loves this alligator and treats him so well,” Laura Lautner says of Tony Cavallaro.
She lives next door to the crocodile's house in Hamburg, and describes Albert as calm and gentle.
– He swims in the pool, lies on the sidewalk next to the pool, eats chicken and doesn't bother anyone.
– He suffers from health problems
Cavallaro had previously obtained permission to own the alligator, but that permission expired in 2021 and was not renewed.
The authorities have handed Albert over to experts who will care for him until they find a new, permanent place to live.
The crocodile suffers from several health problems. Authorities wrote that he was blind in both eyes and had spinal cord problems.
Owner Tony tells 7News he gives alligator eye medicine. He doesn't agree that Albert has back problems.
Alligators are the largest reptiles in the United States. They can attack people, and deaths sometimes occur, writes Store Norske Leksikon.
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