Coney Island seeing strange increase of exotic animals
A wallaby spotted along the boardwalk is now being taken care of out on Long Island.
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Residents of Coney Island say that the local boardwalk has become more of a zoo since the summer started.
Last Thursday, officers from the Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad came to Coney Island after someone called them about a spotting of exotic animals on the boardwalk, where they found a python and caimon. The squad approached the owner, gave them a summons and the owner then brought those animals to the Animal Care Centers of New York City.
Officers from the 60th Precinct also responded to a call about a wallaby spotted on the boardwalk, and the owner was given a summons for possession of a wild marsupial. That animal is now being taken care of on Long Island by the Save the Animals Rescue Foundation.
MORE: Wallaby confiscated from man in Coney Island being cared for in Middle Island
The Animal Care Centers of New York City provided the following statement regarding the wallaby spotted:
“The wallaby is currently on a legal hold and is being housed at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Long Island. It is inappropriate and inhumane to force a wild animal to live as a pet in a densely populated city, and there are no approved rabies vaccinations for wallabies or other marsupials. For these reasons it is illegal to keep a wallaby in New York City.”
