UPDATE: Visitors stumbled upon Stouffville alligators
No charges for east-end homeowner: town

Yorkregion.com
May 15, 2014
By Sandra Bolan

A pair of American alligators, removed from an east-end Stouffville shed, are on their way today to Ottawa and potentially a zoo outside of North America.

The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville was first notified of the alligators about two weeks ago by people visiting the home, which is for sale, according to Marc Pourvahidi, the municipality’s treasurer and director of finance. Customer service falls under his umbrella.

York Regional Police and the OSPCA were immediately called in to assist in the removal of the reptiles.

However, as this falls out of their expertise, Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo in Ottawa took over the removal.

It took two weeks to organize the move. There was no imminent danger to residents or the alligators, Paul “Little Ray” Raymond Goulet told yorkregion.com today from the vehicle transferring the alligators.

“The gentleman who had them, certainly cared about them regardless of the motivation for getting them in the first place,” Mr. Raymond Goulet said.

Alligators and other exotic animals, such as elephants and hyenas, are prohibited as pets within the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, according to its municipal bylaw.

No charges will be laid against the alligators’ owner, according to Mr. Pourvahidi.

The two alligators - a female weighing 10 to 15 pounds and about 5-1/2 feet long, along with a male, weighing 40 pounds and measuring four feet - were being housed in a locked shed in a residential neighbourhood.

They are between two and nine years of age, according to Mr. Raymond Goulet.

The alligators had a koi pond and full access of the shed, he said.

As far as he could tell, the alligators looked to be well taken care of. “Their basic requirements seemed to be met.”

Male American alligators can grow to between 12 and 14 feet long and weigh between 600 and 800 pounds, while females top out around eight feet and 200 pounds, according to Mr. Raymond Goulet.

They have a lifespan of 60 to 80 years.

“It’s just not reasonable for people to keep American alligators as pets,” he said.

Alligators are carnivores and opportunistic feeders who are “unscrupulous in their source of food,” he said.

They are also intelligent and require stimulus.

A TV crew banging on his door and seeking comment, notified Dave Lawlor, who lives in the area, about the alligators last night.

He had no idea reptiles were living within a kilometer of his home.

“I think it’s incredible,” he told The Sun-Tribune.

“What do you need alligators for? I don’t know why people need reptiles at all as pets,” he said.

“Where would you even buy or get an alligator.”

It’s as easy as driving across the border, according to Steve Featherstone, director of Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo in Hamilton. They can also be found on buy/sell websites such as Kijiji.

Reptiles are afraid people but Mr. Raymond Goulet said the removal of the two in Stouffville “was pretty routine”.

“We treat them like they are potentially aggressive,” he said.

“They certainly could remove a finger very easily,” said Brad Dewar, investigations and communications officer for the OSPCA. He was on-hand for the removal last night.

This is not the first time the OSPCA has been called in for alligator wrangling. It is actually the second time in eight months an alligator has been removed from a York Region home, he said.