Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Apparently someone's 42" alligator got loose in town the other day, and now the owner is being taken to court for possessing a dangerous animal. The owner had had it for 2.5 years. The director of the animal shelter said "Possessing animals such as alligators is illegal in Huntington because they are potentially dangerous" Now this is just ridiculous. I understand that alligators "can" be dangerous, but no more dangerous than some dogs. Why else would there be a leash law? And I understand that the owner should have taken better precautions to keep it secured. You have to understand that this is a small city in West Virginia. I'm just afraid they'll start making some ridiculous laws banning reptiles in the city limits because of one mistake. They even said the alligator was not acting aggressive towards anyone. I'm just curious what other animals they consider "potentially dangerous".

good and valid points to address. I believe most individuals in most of the communities lack the education on reptiles in general, thus are instinctively fearful of them. More education programs would help! We can also look at the "poisonous" bearded dragons used in the movie Holes. How many actually are aware that bearded dragons are very docile and not poisonous.

Detroit in approx 35 miles from me and there is not 2 weeks that go by without hearing of a dog attacking someone, a child, etc.
People will be just walking down the street and bam, a dog or pack hops fences and attacks. An alligator may be able to eat a small child, thus the fear sets in, versus a dog bite. The truama though from dog bites can last a life time and I work with numerous children who would substantiate that.

Educating the general public is key!!!!

Great topic!!!

Greg

If you have a herp society in your area, join it. Being active and proactive makes all the difference. Individuals can do very little when it comes to impacting legislation. Groups, organized groups, are what can make a difference.

A good deal of legislation with regard to exotics, and herps in particular is formed without any participation of knowledgable individuals.

My opinion? No yokel should be able to go out and purchase an alligator or caiman. Not saying that this was the case with the individual in question. But between the choice of a 'restricted' list (animals requiring permits from the state for ownership) or no reptiles at all, I would opt for a responsible system of ownership through use of permits.

Incidentally, CNN ran a story shortly after a 12 yr. old was killed by an alligator in Fla a few weeks ago. Dogs, and horses far outweighed crocodilians for human fatalities.

probly some big tegus i would not take your tegu outside in plain view to anyone unless you know they dont care. and the fact its such a big thing is because its not a normal animal in the least. i agree when you say dogs are dangerous. but not as dangerous dogs bite and let go. gators bite and spin :/ like i said its just the fact that its not a normal animal, and so many peoples fear of little anole lizards on their porch much less a 4.5ft one.

Thanks for all your replies. I do agree that there should be some sort of permit for something that grows as large as alligators. But they are just taking it away from him.
My tegu only goes out in my yard with me, and I'm at the end of a road that no one ever comes up. I got so upset over this that I wrote a letter to the editor:

This is in response to the recent article I saw pertaining to the owner of an alligator being taken to court over possessing a “potentially dangerous” animal.
The article states that it is illegal to own a dangerous animal such as an alligator. What about dogs? I’m sure there are leash laws for a reason. I wonder how many incidents of dog bites/attacks there are on record. What about parrots? Larger ones can inflict tremendous damage, and even remove fingers. I could continue on to ferrets, rodents, and even livestock. The point is most animals can be dangerous. Maybe we should ban all pets except for insects? Oh wait, some of them are poisonous. Maybe we should just stick to pet rocks?
I could understand if the alligator had not been taken care of properly. If it is in good health, then all that he should have been cited for is breaking the leash law

I have a home in Florida where alligators are prevelant. If you leave them alone, and don't go anywhere near the banks of rivers and freshwater lakes, ponds, etc., you will not have a problem with them. Alligators that are left wild usually have a fear of humans. In Florida (and I'm sure in other gator states) it is against the law to feed, harass or otherwise interact with alligators. The alligators become what they call "nuisance" animals when they have been fed by humans and lose their fear. Then you need to watch out. The boy that was killed unfortunately was in an area that alligators inhabit. To an alligator, it was an opportunity. Humans create many of the problems with reptiles. If a reptile is illegal in your community, you should choose another pet. I agree 100% that proper education and the issuance of permits should be required for dangerous specimens. Look at all the venomous people keep, scares the heck out of me. Responsible ownership is so important. People fear what they don't know. I only have uromastyx and frogs presently and you would laugh to see people's reactions to them. They jump back like I'm holding a pit viper. We all need to abide by the laws so we can continue to do what we love, keeping our reptiles.

Pam

Agreed. But I think it is tremendously important that the herp community as a whole is seen as responsible, and not 'flakes'. If we don't have ANY say in the laws being made - we are in trouble. In MA, the NEHS was consulted by Division of Fishery and Wildlife with regard to restricted animals (requiring permits) and exempt (own without permits). Everything comes down to language and interpretation, as well as the experience of those forming legislation. Do you want someone who truly believes that Nerodia species (watersnake) is actually a Cottonmouth? That is what the uninformed in New England believe. You show them a water snake and they are convinced that it is venomous. You would be hard pressed to ever convince anyone that an alligator is not a "dangerous" animal. It's the word "dangerous" that is the problem. That is the kind of vague and sweeping language in a piece of legislation that threatens reptile owners. As pointed out earlier, any animal can be dangerous. Bee keepers have potentially dangerous animals. Rottweiler owners, hell, chihuahua owners have potentially dangerous animals. I'm pretty sure guppy owners are safe though.

my friend was told to go catch one in our super nasty river in iowa city iowa. he ended up doin an army crawl like 50 ft. into a drain pipe and caught it. we didn't tell anyone about it just so that kind of thing wouldn't happen around here.

I am in total agreement with educating the general population about reptiles. I am lucky enough to have a wife who is a fourth grade teacher. So we are always taking in our lizards and our snake as well as our ferret, we have a b&w tegu a blue tegu and a green water dragon and we used to have a red tailed boa. By exposing the children to reps at an early age they get over thier fears and hopefully will be a more understanding crowd as adults. I am just sorry we will have to wait about 30 years to see any results. But the average adult will not change thier views even if given proof to the contrary.
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Beau W.

The director of the animal shelter says they are illegal? Is there an actual law or local ordinance to support his or her statement? If not, he's blowing smoke. I'm all for some "reasonable" regulations for owning reptiles. With all of the rescues that I get I'd be crazy not to feel that way. Even more important to me is responsible behavior in the folks that already own herps, especially the larger lizards and boids. How difficult is it to keep your animal contained so that it doesn't become a traffic hazard or nuisance in someone's yard? It all comes down to having your animal/s under control at all times and not making a spectacle out of it. We, as keepers of herps, have to always keep in mind that not everyone feels the same way as we do about our animals.

I Agree with you jane . Also my girl has grown 1 1/2- 2" all ready and is doing great Thanks Russ

I agree that many laws against reptile keeping are ridiculous, but alligators are an exception. Noone should have a Crocodilian usless they have secured that it has no chance of escape, and I think there shoudl be harder to obtain one. I would rather have a pitbull walking down the street than and adult alligator.