JOURNAL STAR (Peoria, Illinois) 15 July 06 Grabbed gator now in state custody - Loose legal ends tie up reptile from Heart of Illinois Fair exhibit (Emily Anderson)
Peoria: Rumors of illegal sales and permit problems led to the confiscation of an alligator at the Heart of Illinois Fair, according to Bill Motteler of the Peoria Animal Welfare Shelter.
Motteler said he and a fellow animal- control officer followed orders Tuesday to transport a 2-foot American alligator from Jason Johnson's reptile exhibit to the animal shelter.
"We had a call that they were selling alligators down at the fair, which is illegal, so we just went out to investigate it, and we were told by the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) to go ahead and confiscate if we saw any alligators," Motteler said Friday.
It is illegal to sell an American alligator, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Web site.
Earlier in the week, Motteler said a local veterinarian told him someone had called the office seeking help for an alligator that "wasn't doing well." The veterinarian declined to treat the alligator, which the man said he bought at the fair.
Motteler also heard that fliers advertising alligators for sale were handed out at the fair, although he was not sure whether they were from Johnson or from a Florida man who brought two alligators to the reptile exhibit. The Florida vendor left the fair Monday.
Motteler said the DNR asked PAWS to hold the alligator until they could check the legality of Johnson's operation and permit.
Johnson insisted Thursday that the reptile was taken unjustly and without an explanation. He said he could not get anyone to call him back with information on when, or if, he could retrieve it.
Sgt. Tim Sickmeyer, acting chief of the DNR's investigation unit, said Johnson needs a specific permit to possess an American alligator because they are listed on the federal endangered species list as a threatened animal. Sickmeyer said Johnson has yet to present his permit to the DNR.
The alligator was housed at PAWS for 48 hours and is now in the DNR's custody. Motteler said he just did what the DNR and the Department of Agriculture told him to do, and has nothing more to do with the investigation or the alligator.
"It's between Jason and the DNR now," Motteler said.
Sickmeyer confirmed the DNR has the alligator, but did not say when or if it would be returned to Johnson.
Sickmeyer would not comment on the investigation, which is being conducted with the federal government, until its end. He wasn't sure when that would be.
Friday's Journal Star told Johnson's side of the story, which Sickmeyer doesn't agree with.
"All I can tell you is that made for good reading, his comments," said Sickmeyer. "Let's just say we obviously have a different view of things than he does."
Grabbed gator now in state custody