DEC Police Enforces Laws Against the Sale of Wild Animals 

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler commended the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police for their enforcement of laws prohibiting the sale of wild animals in Orange County, and all of New York State. In one recent matter an individual was prosecuted for the Sale of Wild Animals in violation of the Environmental Conservation Law for selling juvenile alligators, which were being sold as “dwarf alligators.” The alligators were American alligators which can grow up to 15 feet long and weigh up to 1,000 pounds, although they normally grow to less than eleven feet and weigh less than 700 pounds. A permit is required in New York State to sell or possess alligators.

  “Not only is it important that the public not be defrauded when they purchase an animal, but some species can be dangerous to the owner as well as to the environment,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “The sale of alligators is regulated in New York State because of the size and strength of these animals, as well as the fact that in the wild they would be considered an invasive species which could disrupt New York’s natural species. Although American alligators are no longer considered to be an endangered species, their skins are virtually identical to the skins of endangered crocodilians, such as the black caiman, and the unregulated sale of American alligators could further endanger theses other species, since it takes an expert to distinguish between their skins after they are made into products.”

   In 2020, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office partnered with the Environmental Conservation Police to prosecute an individual in the business of illegally possessing and selling certain venomous snakes in violation of the Environmental Conservation Law’s prohibition against the Illegal Commercialization of Prohibited Species. Some of these snakes included Gaboon vipers, puff adders and various Asian pit-vipers. These snakes were extremely dangerous that were sent to the Bronx Zoo, one of the very few organizations in the area authorized under the law to possess those types of snakes.

An individual was recently prosecuted in New York State for the Sale of Wild Animals in violation of the Environmental Conservation Law for selling juvenile alligators.