Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
MILLVILLE -- Skippy the 5-foot alligator and his two reptile friends were freed from their basement pen and are headed to a warmer climate after Millville and state police raided a home on Central Street yesterday afternoon.
Officers with the Massachusetts Environmental Police joined Millville Police Chief Timothy Ryan to seize the alligator, along with a 2-foot spectacled caiman named Hoppy, and a Savannah monitor lizard named Whiskey from the home at 54 Central St. around 3:30 p.m. The spectacled caiman is a genus of Central and South American crocodilian reptiles similar to alligators.
The owner, Keith Lemieux, 30, was not at home during the rescue. But his wife, Roseanne, admitted the reptiles were inside and allowed police to take them.
She said she was unaware they were illegal to keep as pets in Massachusetts. "Nobody ever told us," she said.
Police are considering whether to file a criminal charge for possession of a crocodilian reptile without a permit or issue a $50 civil fine, said Environmental Police Officer Andrew Beaulieu. Police believe the animals were purchased in nearby Rhode Island, where they can be legally kept in homes.
Police went to Lemieux's home with workers from Rainforest Reptile Shows, a business that accepts alligators and crocodiles seized by law enforcement officials and sends them to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park in Florida.
The family kept the 5-foot alligator in the home's basement and a large holding pen in the back yard. Officials with Rainforest Reptile Shows said the animals require much more space.
"This is not an animal that should be kept as a pet," said Michael Ralbovsky, a herpetologist with the Beverly company. "It is not a pet. This is an animal that belongs in the wild."
His wife, Joaney Gallagher, the company's director, said keeping crocodiles or alligators is a full-time job that should only be attempted by trained professionals.
"It's very unrealistic when you think most of these animals will live 60 to 90 years," she said. "It's a longer commitment than even an exotic bird."
Police went to the home yesterday with a search warrant from Uxbridge District Court, obtained earlier in the day after officers spotted the 2-foot caiman through a window.
The caiman was being kept in a tank on the kitchen counter, officials said. They learned about the alligator and the lizard after questioning Lemieux's wife.
Lemieux had owned the alligator and lizard for about five years and the caiman for three years, said his mother-in-law Suzanne Minot.
Shawn Fay, owner of Regal Reptiles in Providence, R.I., said alligators are legal in just four states: Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Fay said his store gets plenty of customers from Massachusetts and other states where keeping these reptiles is illegal, though the store does not ask customers for identification.
"We don't require that for anyone, but if people blatantly say they're not from one of the legal states, we don't sell to them," he said.
Fay said Massachusetts prohibits more reptile and lizard species than most states.
"The stuff that's illegal, there's no real reason for them to be illegal," he said. "Alligators are safer than dogs."
Crocodiles are a different story.
"Alligators are relatively tame," Fay said. "They're not vicious. Crocodiles are vicious and they get big fast."
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, there have been 365 attacks and 13 fatalities from alligator attacks since 1948.
Sara Withee can be reached at 508-634-7546 or [email protected].
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/mllv_alligators11142003.htm
Another article on the seizure
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1712&dept_id=24361&newsid=10512905&PAG=461&rfi=9
Officers with the Massachusetts Environmental Police joined Millville Police Chief Timothy Ryan to seize the alligator, along with a 2-foot spectacled caiman named Hoppy, and a Savannah monitor lizard named Whiskey from the home at 54 Central St. around 3:30 p.m. The spectacled caiman is a genus of Central and South American crocodilian reptiles similar to alligators.
The owner, Keith Lemieux, 30, was not at home during the rescue. But his wife, Roseanne, admitted the reptiles were inside and allowed police to take them.
She said she was unaware they were illegal to keep as pets in Massachusetts. "Nobody ever told us," she said.
Police are considering whether to file a criminal charge for possession of a crocodilian reptile without a permit or issue a $50 civil fine, said Environmental Police Officer Andrew Beaulieu. Police believe the animals were purchased in nearby Rhode Island, where they can be legally kept in homes.
Police went to Lemieux's home with workers from Rainforest Reptile Shows, a business that accepts alligators and crocodiles seized by law enforcement officials and sends them to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park in Florida.
The family kept the 5-foot alligator in the home's basement and a large holding pen in the back yard. Officials with Rainforest Reptile Shows said the animals require much more space.
"This is not an animal that should be kept as a pet," said Michael Ralbovsky, a herpetologist with the Beverly company. "It is not a pet. This is an animal that belongs in the wild."
His wife, Joaney Gallagher, the company's director, said keeping crocodiles or alligators is a full-time job that should only be attempted by trained professionals.
"It's very unrealistic when you think most of these animals will live 60 to 90 years," she said. "It's a longer commitment than even an exotic bird."
Police went to the home yesterday with a search warrant from Uxbridge District Court, obtained earlier in the day after officers spotted the 2-foot caiman through a window.
The caiman was being kept in a tank on the kitchen counter, officials said. They learned about the alligator and the lizard after questioning Lemieux's wife.
Lemieux had owned the alligator and lizard for about five years and the caiman for three years, said his mother-in-law Suzanne Minot.
Shawn Fay, owner of Regal Reptiles in Providence, R.I., said alligators are legal in just four states: Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Fay said his store gets plenty of customers from Massachusetts and other states where keeping these reptiles is illegal, though the store does not ask customers for identification.
"We don't require that for anyone, but if people blatantly say they're not from one of the legal states, we don't sell to them," he said.
Fay said Massachusetts prohibits more reptile and lizard species than most states.
"The stuff that's illegal, there's no real reason for them to be illegal," he said. "Alligators are safer than dogs."
Crocodiles are a different story.
"Alligators are relatively tame," Fay said. "They're not vicious. Crocodiles are vicious and they get big fast."
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, there have been 365 attacks and 13 fatalities from alligator attacks since 1948.
Sara Withee can be reached at 508-634-7546 or [email protected].
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/mllv_alligators11142003.htm
Another article on the seizure
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1712&dept_id=24361&newsid=10512905&PAG=461&rfi=9
