Rotherham man charged with keeping an alligator at home

A man has been accused of unlawfully keeping an alligator at his Rotherham home.

Ashley Betts (32) of Carlyle Court, Maltby, appeared before Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on February 26 charged with keeping a “dangerous wild animal, namely an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis.)

The case was brought under the UK's Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 which stipulates that no person shall keep any dangerous wild animal except under the authority of a licence.

Prosecutors claim the offence is alleged to have been carried out on July 11, 2024.

The proceedings, brought before Sheffield Magistrates by Rotherham Council, was adjourned until later this month.

Usually, the American alligator reptile is found in the Southeastern United States and a small area of north eastern Mexico.

Adults in the wild been thought to grow as long as 19 feet two inches. Adult American alligators have one of the strongest laboratory-measured bite of any living animal.