Abandoned alligator with taped mouth rescued by Harford Deputies

[cab67]

1. This is cruel, but...

...the cruelty is centered on the abandonment.

To a lot of you, the concept of taping an alligator's jaws shut may seem cruel, but it's actually not - at least if it's done for a limited time. Scientists who work on gators and crocs routinely do this when handling the animals. It doesn't hurt them.

Their snouts aren't built like those of a mammal. The tape does nothing to restrict breathing, the way it might for a dog.

That said, keeping the tape on for a long time, preventing the gator from eating (assuming it was provided with food, and that's doubtful), would indeed be cruel.