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Pet alligator owner Tony Cavallaro is lobbying to get his scaly friend Albert back into his arms after conservation officers removed him from the man’s home – Tony claims that Albert is a gentle giant who isn’t dangerous as evident by how many of his neighbours have pet him

Conservation authorities said Tony Cavallaro violated rules for owning a pet considered dangerous(AP)

A man who had his pet alligator seized by conservation authorities last week is determined to get his scaly friend back, arguing the reptile he named Albert has lived with him for more than 30 years and isn’t a danger to anyone.

Officers a week ago met Tony Cavallaro in the driveway of his suburban Buffalo home with a warrant, before sedating the 12-foot (3.6-meter), 750-pound (340-kilogram) alligator, taping his mouth and driving him away in a van.




Cavallaro’s licence to keep Albert, who is 34 years old, had expired in 2021, the Department of Environmental Conservation said. But even if it had been renewed, Cavallaro had let other people pet the alligator, even get in the pool with him, providing grounds for the removal under the rules for keeping animals classified as dangerous, the department said.

READ MORE: Alarm as 2,500 private owners keep elephants, tigers and lemurs as pets

Albert has reportedly lived with Tony for more than three decades(AP)

Cavallaro, 64, sees Albert differently. His alligator was born and raised in captivity and has never shown signs of aggression toward people or other animals, he said. He recalled finding Albert curled up with his dog on the dog’s bed when the alligator was smaller. “He’s just a big baby,” Cavallaro said Tuesday, showing pictures of Albert gripping a stuffed alligator in its teeth and resting his chin on a stack of pillows.

Cavallaro has hired a lawyer in hopes of getting Albert back, and his efforts are being backed by his own neighbours as well as strangers across social media. An online petition has been signed by more than 120,000 people and fans have created “Free Albert” T-shirts and buttons.

Tony intends to convince conservation authorities that Albert is a “gentle giant”(AP)

A friend even penned a song for the cause: “Oh Albert, please come home,” the pal sings while strumming a guitar in a video posted to Facebook. Cavallaro has lived with Albert for more than half of his life after buying the alligator at an Ohio reptile show when it was two months old and considers him an “emotional support animal.”

He spent $120,000 on a custom addition to his house designed around Albert, complete with heated floors, a filtering indoor pond with a waterfall and spa jet, tropical plants and a bar. Now it’s hard to enter the space, Cavallaro said, gathering up the stack of Albert’s pillows he said had been tossed aside by the officers and returning them to the carpet where the alligator liked to lay.



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