Owner of Albert the alligator suing DEC over seizure decision

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The former owner of a 11-foot, 750-pound alligator filed a lawsuit against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, claiming that the denial of his license to have the gator at his Hamburg home and seizure was not based in fact.

Albert the Alligator was seized from Anthony Cavallaro’s home in March with the DEC saying that Cavallaro did not have a license to legally own the animal.

The suit, which was filed in New York State Supreme Court in Erie County on Friday, claims that Cavallaro followed all regulations and that despite several attempts to contact the DEC, he never received a response before the gator was taken.

He said that he last renewed his license on Sep. 18, 2020 and it was scheduled to expire a year later. The DEC had changed their regulations in 2020 to create additional safeguards, which Cavallaro claimed he was in compliance with.

Cavallaro said in March that in addition to paying for extra insurance, the new regulations would have required him to tape Albert’s mouth shut when around humans, and add a fence around the animal’s enclosure in case it gets out.

He said that the DEC did not return multiple phone calls and emails throughout 2021. He said nothing happened until March 6, which was when the DEC and other law enforcement arrived at his home and seized Albert. Cavallaro said at the time his application was still pending.

The suit states that on May 15 he sent a letter to the DEC regarding “their failure to make a decision regarding my application to renew my license.” His application was then denied on May 24.

“The DEC’s basis for denying the license is demonstrably false,” Cavallaro claims. “I constructed a facility sufficient to prevent the public from being in close proximity to the animal which the DEC was well aware of as they not only visited the facility, but also received correspondence and photographs from me detailing the secure nature of the enclosure.”

Cavallaro first bought the animal in 1990. He said he treated the animal like a child and added an addition to the back of his house years ago to make room for Albert, fit with an inground pool.

The alligator was relocated to a rehabilitation facility in Texas in May, while Cavallaro’s friends and neighbors have rallied around efforts to return Albert to his habitat in Hamburg.

Cavallaro continues to seek Albert being allowed to return to Hamburg.

“I purchased the alligator with the understanding that I would be able to keep it for the rest of its life by abiding by the then and there existing laws for relicensure,” Cavallaro says in court documents. “Therefore, [the DEC’s] determination should be reversed.”

Timeline in the Albert the Alligator story:

• March 15: Hamburg man fighting to bring gator home after reptile seized by DEC
• March 25: After national attention, gator expert weighs in on Hamburg’s ‘Albert the Alligator’
• April 17: DEC: Info on Albert the alligator not being released until conclusion of investigation
• April 19: Documents shed more light on DEC’s seizure of Albert the alligator in Hamburg
• May 8: Albert the Alligator has a new home – in Texas

Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here .