Environmental Cops Seize Stuffed Alligator In Westchester

NEW CASTLE, NY — Environmental Conservation Officers seized a 5-foot-long alligator mount listed for sale on Facebook, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

ECO Kevin Wamsley had received a tip from a friend concerning an ad in New Castle advertising the alligator for $500.

ECO Wamsley communicated with the individual selling the alligator and set up a time to meet.

On Jan. 21, Wamsley and ECOs Craig Tompkins and Chad Eyler met with the seller. The seller was issued an administrative ticket for illegally offering the alligator mount for sale and the mount was seized as evidence.

According to the blog EstateSales.org, these cannot be sold as taxidermy in New York:

Leopard, Snow Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Cheetah, Alligators, Caiman or Crocodile of the Order Crocodylia (except as provided in subdivision two of this section), tortoises of the genus Gopherus, marine turtles of the family Cheloniidae and the family Dermochelidae, Vicuna, Wolf, Red Wolf, or Kangaroo or Polar Bear, Mountain Lion, sometimes called Cougar, Jaguar, Ocelot, or Margay, Sumatran Rhinoceros, or Black Rhinoceros.