An American alligator trainer took on one of the scaly reptiles in a Tel Aviv courtroom this week to show that wrestling the creatures causes them to harm.
The Hamat Gader alligator farm, which has been targeted by animal rights groups, flew in reptile wrestler Jim Moulton from St. Augustine, Fla.
The “Let the Animals Live” lobby wants the court to ban future wrestling shows at the farm.
Before District Judge Hila Gertler, Moulton grappled with the 3-foot-long reptile before flipping it over on its back, and pinching a nerve under its neck to render it unconscious.
“There has been no damage so far to any of the alligators, just to people,” Moulton said. He said he had trained three Israeli wrestlers who have been staging the daily, 30-minute show at Hamat Gadar.
But attorney Yoram Halevi, representing the animal rights, lobby differed.
He said that the one minute when the alligator is turned over is “nothing but torture.”
Gertler promised a decision by next week.
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