BUFFALO, NY — An upstate New York man whose 750-pound alligator was seized is suing the Department of Environmental Conservation to get it back, alleging the agency wrongly failed to renew the license for the pet he cared for for more than 30 years.
Protective officers entered Tony Cavallaro’s home in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg in March, tranquilized the 11-foot-long alligator named Albert, taped its mouth shut and drove away, saying Cavallaro’s permit to keep the reptile expired in 2021 and had not been renewed.
Cavallaro says in his lawsuit in state Supreme Court that the agency’s denial of his license was not “based on facts,” his attorney, Peter Kooshoian, said Tuesday.
“We are hoping that he will get his permit to get the animal back, and from there we would like to negotiate or litigate to have the animal returned to Mr. Cavallaro, because we feel that he should have had a valid permit at the time, as he has had for the past 30 years,” Kooshoian said.
The DEC does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson said in an email when asked for comment on the claims. It previously said Albert’s enclosure did not adequately protect him from contact with people, and that the alligator suffered “blindness in both eyes and spinal complications” — conditions Cavallaro disputes.
The alligator’s seizure by law enforcement, captured on video, and Cavallaro’s videos and photos of him petting and kissing Albert in the indoor pool he built, prompted an outpouring of support for the duo. “Bring Albert Home” signs still adorn some lawns in the neighborhood, and more than 4,500 followers follow Cavallaro’s efforts on Facebook.
“I hope we get this resolved. That’s all I can do,” Cavallaro said of the decision to sue. “It’s overwhelming. … It’s ruined my whole year, destroyed it.”
Cavallaro purchased the American alligator at a reptile show in Ohio in 1990 when Albert was two months old. He considers him an emotional support animal and a “gentle giant.”
The permit became a problem after the DEC implemented a change in regulations for possessing dangerous animals in 2020. After Cavallaro’s permit expired in 2021, the agency said he failed to bring the enclosure up to updated standards to ensure the alligator posed no danger to the public.
Cavallaro said the DEC failed to enforce its own permit requirements for people who already owned a wild animal when the new regulations went into effect.
Albert was taken to Gator Country, a sanctuary in Beaumont, Texas, where visitors can interact with alligators and other reptiles.
“You can deal with them in all sorts of ways. It’s like getting kicked in the face,” Cavallaro said.
