Mail-order gator lands Pike man in hot water

By Cody Bozarth

In a sufficiently advanced civilization, a person could — with a few clicks at a computer — place an order today and have a live alligator appear on their doorstep tomorrow afternoon.

In this case, though, there is a difference between “could have” and “should have.”

Terry W. Swartz, 26, of Barry pleaded guilty last week for possessing a dangerous animal after he bought a baby American alligator online. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police cited Swartz and he forfeited the animal into law enforcement custody.

Swartz was sentenced to 12 months of conditional discharge and fined $552.

Conservation Police Capt. Jamie Maul said that an investigation was opened after police found a picture on Facebook of a person handling the two-foot-long alligator.

“Under the federal endangered species list, the American alligator is considered threatened,” Maul said. “So regardless, here in this case, even if it weren’t a dangerous animal it would have been illegal to possess under the Endangered Species Act.”

Though the American alligator is not itself considered to be threatened, it is treated as a threatened species because of its visually similar appearance to the American crocodile — which is a vulnerable species.

A Florida-based website offers these baby alligators for $125 — plus the required overnight shipping charges — as well as a plethora of other creatures including tortoises, snakes, lizards and frogs.

Maul said anyone interested in buying reptiles or other exotic animals should consider contacting conservation police or the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to do research and understand the law.

Scott Ballard, Illinois Department of Natural Resources herpetologist, said many people are not prepared to take care of such reptiles.

“People think they are cute when they are babies, but under optimal conditions grow a foot a year,” Ballard said. “They get up to 600 pounds and most people don’t have facilities to take care of them. … We have had people just dump them in the wild, which is incredibly irresponsible. And we have winters here where the animal will just freeze to death.”

“Gators can live for 50 to 60 years,” he added. “If you can’t see yourself taking care of it for 50 to 60 years, then don’t get it.”

Swartz’s alligator is being held by Ballard, and now that the case has been closed in court it will soon be finding a new home. Ballard said he’s been in contact with several facilities that could take it for use in educational programs.

“We don’t like taking people’s pets, but their pets have to be legal,” he said. “It’s all a part of responsible pet ownership whether it’s a dog, cat or reptile.”