Illegal Harboring of an Alligator

Here is an interesting article from today's on line New York Times:

Police in New York arrested a man and woman for allegedly stashing illegal handguns, drugs and an alligator in their Brooklyn home, authorities said.  Michael Volpe, 32, and Alisa Volpe, 25, were taken into custody Monday and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, including two handguns and a shotgun.

They were also charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and harboring an alligator, which is prohibited in New York.

Police discovered the 3.5-foot reptile while they executed a search warrant at about 5:30 a.m.

 

Harboring an alligator is apparently a crime in New York.  I can see charging someone with illegally or unlawfulling possessing an alligator, but a criminal act of harboring an alligator seems odd.  It makes it sound as though the aligator has done something wrong. It is a criminal act to harbor a criminal.  But for you to be guilty of harboring the criminal, the person you harbor must in fact be a criminal.  If he or she is a criminal and you "harbor" such person then you have committed an illegal act. I just looked at the definition of "harboring" and it includes "giving shelter or refuge" to someone.  So I suppose to harbor an alligator is illegal and I withdraw everything I wrote above. Never mind.