Pet alligator seized from liquor store in NY

NEW YORK — A pet alligator
has been seized from a liquor store on New York’s Long Island.

The Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the 3-foot-long, illegally kept pet alligator was removed Wednesday from Alpine Wines and Liquors in Wading River.

Authorities say two employees of the store were issued tickets for possession of an illegal animal. pet alligator will be sent to a sanctuary out of state.

The store’s proprietor told Newsday that an employee had asked her to take care of it while he was apartment hunting and that she believed the animal was a monitor lizard
, not an alligator .