Suffolk County SPCA Holds Amnesty Day For Illegal Animals

SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Out on Long Island, residents were given the chance to safely turn in illegal, exotic animals -- no questions asked.

The Suffolk County SPCA hosted an amnesty day Saturday. The event took place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Holtsville Ecology Center.

"The purpose of this effort is to get these illegally possessed animals into a controlled environment where they can be cared for properly," said Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross. "People who are in possession of these animals unlawfully can turn them in to us without fear of prosecution. No one will be asked to give their name."

Officials said they were willing to accept everything from large constrictor snakes like anacondas, to komodo dragons, CBS2 reported.

One man turned in a half-foot-long alligator that he said he purchased in Rhode Island, 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported.

Gross said it's a common occurrence.

"They get them generally small, they get them like a yearling. And then they grow a foot a year," Gross said. "Now next year it's a foot longer. The year after that it's another foot longer."

And soon that alligator is too big to handle and maybe the owner suffered a nasty bite on the finger, Stern reported.

In all, three American Alligators and eight turtles were turned in this year, Stern reported. Last year's amnesty day netted a rattle snake, an anaconda and a marmoset.

The SPCA had trained handlers on site to help accept the animals.