The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says a Kirkwood man is being ticketed for keeping an alligator in his home.

Officials searched the home on Route 11 November 17th after receiving information about the reptile possibly being kept as a pet.

43 year old Donald Reigel Junior is ticketed for possession of a wild animal as a pet and the 3½ foot American Alligator was sent to a private zoo in Harpursville.

Earlier this year alligators were captured on the banks of the Tioghnioga River in Whitney Point.  Those animals were sent to the same animal attraction in Harpursville.

American Alligators cannot survive in the wild in the cold northeast winter and are native to the southeastern United States.

It is illegal to keep the exotic animals in New York State without a permit.

 

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