Buffalo, N.Y. — A man in upstate New York is suing the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) after his 750-pound alligator was seized. The man, Tony Cavallaro, claims the DEC was wrong to not renew the license for his pet, which he has cared for for over 30 years.
Conservation officers entered Cavallaro’s home in Hamburg, a suburb of Buffalo, and sedated the 11-foot alligator, named Albert. They then taped his mouth shut and took him away, claiming Cavallaro’s license to keep the reptile expired in 2021 and had not been renewed.
Cavallaro’s lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court, argues that the DEC’s denial of his license was “not factually based,” according to his attorney, Peter Kooshoian.
“We’re hoping that he will get his license to have the animal reinstated, and from there we’d like to either negotiate or litigate to have the animal brought back to Mr. Cavallaro because we feel that he should have had a valid license at the time, as he’d had for the last 30 years,” Kooshoian said.
The DEC, when asked for a response to the claims, said they do not comment on pending litigation. They had previously stated that Albert’s enclosure did not adequately ensure he wouldn’t come into contact with people and that the alligator suffered from “blindness in both eyes and spinal complications” — conditions Cavallaro disputes.
The officers’ seizure of the alligator, caught on video, along with Cavallaro’s videos and photos of him petting and kissing Albert in the custom indoor pool he built for him, led to an outpouring of support for the duo. “Bring Albert Home” signs still dot some neighborhood lawns, and over 4,500 followers keep up with Cavallaro’s efforts on Facebook.
“I’m hoping we get this thing resolved. That’s all I can do,” Cavallaro said of the decision to sue. “It’s overwhelming me. … It’s ruined my whole year, destroyed it.”
Cavallaro bought the American alligator at an Ohio reptile show in 1990 when Albert was two months old. He considers Albert an emotional support animal and a “gentle giant.”
The license became an issue after the DEC adopted new regulations for possessing dangerous animals in 2020. After Cavallaro’s license expired in 2021, the agency said he failed to bring the holding area into compliance with the updated standards to ensure the alligator did not pose a danger to the public.
Cavallaro argues that the DEC failed to follow its own licensing requirements for people who already owned a wild animal when the new regulations took effect.
Albert was taken to Gator Country, a Beaumont, Texas, rescue facility where visitors can interact with alligators and other reptiles.
“You can interact with them in all different ways. It’s like a kick right in my teeth,” Cavallaro said.