Man keeps alligator in basement for 26 years

[Still Waters]

A repairman got a shock when he spotted an alligator being kept as a pet in the basement of a suburban Illinois home.

The 200-pound reptile was kept in a cage and had lived in the home for the past 26 years without the owner's neighbours knowing.

An appliance repairman spotted the six-foot long animal moving inside a covered container after being called out to the property in the village of Lansing.

http://www.telegraph...r-26-years.html

[SHaYap]

WOnder if there are any unsolved cases of missing persons in the neighborhood ...

~

[Galactic Goatman]

This man should be arrested for imprisoning an animal.

[Still Waters]

This man should be arrested for imprisoning an animal.

He was charged with unlawful possession of an endangered species after officials removed the alligator and is due to appear in court next week.

I wonder what will happen to the alligator, the article doesn't say.

[Galactic Goatman]

I wonder what will happen to the alligator, the article doesn't say.

Hopefully it will be returned to where it belongs.

[Imaginarynumber1]

Hopefully it will be returned to where it belongs.

It's lived its whole life in captivity. Putting it back in the wild would be a death sentence. It will probably go to a sanctuary.

[Grandpa Greenman]

Plus it is habituated to being around humans and taking food from them. It would be too dangerous to release it. They don't know the difference between your hand and food.

Edited January 25, 2016 by GreenmansGod

[Careful_perspective]

Oh god, how awful for this creature.

[Astra.]

What a selfish and cruel thing to do to a creature - what a miserable life the poor alligator must have had.

At least he was finally found - and hopefully can live out the rest of his life - in a more suitable environment.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Astra.

[Why not]

I live in Florida, and when wild gators get used to people feeding them it is their death sentence. They loose their fear of us, and then you start hearing stories of someone walking there dog by a lake, or pond and fluffy becomes dinner.

[Calibeliever]

Plus it is habituated to being around humans and taking food from them. It would be too dangerous to release it. They don't know the difference between your hand and food.

I visited Sarasota Fl once and on a day trip we went to a park with a sign that read "Don't feed the alligators. They don't understand 'no more'." lol

On a serious note: are alligators on the endangered species list? You wouldn't know it in some parts of the south.

[pallidin]

Gator owner to Obnoxious neighbor: "Hey, let's go down into my comfy basement, play some pool and discuss our differences"

[Sundew]

If the gator survived from "a few centimeters" to 200 lbs. he must have been giving it decent care, BUT I know a man who lost his arm to a gator, one he knew lived in this lake but "had never bothered anyone before" until the day it did. It's not kind to the animal to have it live in such confinement, even though the reptile brain may not need the stimulation that a mammal or bird requires.

As for Alligators being on the endangered list, they may be endangered in some southern states, but I'm guessing places like Louisiana and Florida are not among them, they are overrun with gators to the point that have attacked people, been found in swimming pools, fish ponds, etcetera. If you are ever in Florida, take a ride on the 417, part of the Orlando beltway and cross Lake Jessup. On a warm spring or summer morning you can see all kinds of alligators in this one lake alone. They are not rare.

[freetoroam]

Now Charles Price has been charged, hopefully they will bang him up in captivity for 26 years...see how he likes it.

[jps]

Strangely, most of us don't seem to care about keeping snakes and birds in cages for all their natural lives, but keeping an alligator caged elicits sympathy. Isn't it just a big reptile after all, or are alligators more sensitive to abuse and captivity than snakes and birds etc.? I say save the birds, fish, reptiles and other animals from such restrictive captivity too!

Imagine the headline: A repairman got a shock when he spotted a budgie being kept as a pet in the basement of a suburban Illinois home.

The 0.0020-pound bird was kept in a cage and had lived in the home for the past 26 years without the owner's neighbours knowing.

An appliance repairman spotted the 0.006-foot long animal moving inside a covered container after being called out to the property in the village of Lansing.

How could he!!!!

Disclaimer: If reliable studies show they don't really care or suffer, i would stand corrected.