Officials seize 750lb blind alligator from New York home

New York department of environmental conservation officers secure an 11-ft alligator for transport after it was seized from a home in Hamburg, New York, on 13 March. Photograph: NYDEC/AP

A blind alligator weighing more than 700lb and stretching more than 10ft in length was recently seized from a home in upstate New York, potentially setting up a legal battle between the animal’s owner and authorities.

The state’s environmental conservation department on 12 March seized the 30-year-old, 750lb and 11ft-long alligator called Albert Edward from a home in the Erie county community of Hamburg.