Alligator confiscation unfair?

[glunn]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/alligator-lived-los-angeles-familys-backyard-37-years/story?id=28249346

 

It seems a little unfair to me to take away a family pet who was legal when the family bought her.  Plus, the gator seems pretty cute and friendly.

[glunn]

One more story of man loves gator:

 

[ashbury]

One more story of man loves gator:

Yet another love that dare not speak its name.

 

I've got no sympathy at all for the second guy.  He knows he's crossed the line, as evidenced by his transparent lying about taking money in the venture. 

 

I have a little more sympathy for the family with the pet, as it's possible to run afoul of zoning ordinances etc without realizing it.  Still, if it's known that the authorities are turning a blind eye to this case, it can become harder to enforce a similar case that involves less knowledgeable people than this guy appears. Or simply the nuisance factor.  "They didn't take away that guy's alligator, but you're hassling me about a small flock of chickens in Beverly Hills?"

 

I wonder what his home/liability insurance premiums are?  Wait, he didn't mention the gator to the insurance company?  Uh oh....

[Squirrel]

I haven't watched/read this above posted articles yet.  But all I have to say is I think it is wrong to make pets out of wild animals that are not domesticated for such things.

[Bark's Lounge]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/alligator-lived-los-angeles-familys-backyard-37-years/story?id=28249346

 

It seems a little unfair to me to take away a family pet who was legal when the family bought her.  Plus, the gator seems pretty cute and friendly.

Friends of yours Glunn?

[Bark's Lounge]

One more story of man loves gator:

 

True story.

 

In 2004, I  met a guy, who was a backwaters Floridian who worked for a friend of mine. This guy had a couple screws loose and he was intense and fairly creepy. He had talked about how he had smuggled Baby Alligators up to Minnesota and sold them to people. He then took delight in how these people set these animals free in a lake because they became bored with them or they had grown too big.

 

It certainly could be that this guy was shoveling us a bunch of BS, but one thing that is for sure, he was a top of the line scumbag. In the couple of weeks he had brushed me and a couple friends of mine lives, we gave him a nickname: "Nazi Scott". I am pretty sure he was not a Nazi, but the label suited him just fine. That's how bad this guys energy was.

 

I know this story is pretty much pointless, but that is what this Alligator Pet thread made me think of and I thought I would share it for Bleeps and Giggles.

[Willihammer]

There's a good documentary on Netflix called An Elephant in the Living Room about people owning exotic pets, their attachment to them, the culture, how they get them, the difficulties they present to authorities, etc.

 

IMO it is sort of a self-correcting problem since most attacks are of the animal against its owner. However when you have a habitat that is ripe for a non-native species to become invasive were pets to escape, eg. the feral boas the have run wild in Florida. That is a real problem.

[glunn]

Friends of yours Glunn?

No, but I can see how someone might be very attached to an alligator after raising it from a pup for 37 years.

[Bark's Lounge]

No, but I can see how someone might be very attached to an alligator after raising it from a pup for 37 years.

Yeah, 37 years is half a lifetime. I am sure it is a heart wrenching loss for those people.

[Bark's Lounge]

Yeah, 37 years is half a lifetime. I am sure it is a heart wrenching loss for those people.

... and to add the dead cats are a bit strange, but I am sure it's just an odd coincidence.