SPCA: Alligator Rescued From Home In Mastic Beach
MASTIC BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The Suffolk County SPCA says an alligator was rescued from a home in Mastic Beach.
The 30-inch, 3-year-old gator was dropped off at a rescue group, which then contacted the SPCA.
"The person that possessed the alligator, I guess, they just felt they didn't want to have it anymore," Chief Roy Gross told 1010 WINS. "It was getting bigger and a lot of these people buy them on an impulse. They're small. They think they are cute, and then they grow a foot a year."
The SPCA called the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation Police and both agencies responded and confiscated the gator.
Gross said this is the third gator found in the county this year.
"This is something that we take very seriously," he said. "This alligator is about 30 inches, so it's about twice the size of the alligator that was found in the spring."
It is illegal to own an alligator in New York state. In recent years, dozens of gators and other illegal reptiles have been found on Long Island.
"Don't possess these types of animals," Gross said. "They are dangerous, they spread diseases. Stick to your furry animals -- your dogs, your cats. I can't imagine anybody sitting on the couch curled up with an alligator on their lap."
Although the gator is relatively small, Gross told WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs, it is still dangerous.
"An alligator this size grabbing on to a child's finger, the way they roll, they could probably tear the finger off," he said. "If they get bigger, they're certainly capable of killing."
Gross said there are amnesty days held throughout the year for people to drop off illegal pets and avoid criminal charges. The SPCA said 29 reptiles and two marmoset monkeys were turned in on the last amnesty day.
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