This Chiefs running back has a pet alligator. Can Crocky-J stay with him in Kansas City?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — During the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, Sept. 5, the NBC broadcast took some time to talk about Carson Steele, the Chiefs’ undrafted rookie running back.

The broadcast discussed Steele’s pet alligator, Crocky-J, who was a Christmas present Steele received in elementary school. Crocky-J is 4 to 5 feet and around 100 pounds, Steele said last month.

NBC showed a picture of Steele holding the alligator and said the pet was with Steele’s parents in Indiana while he worked on getting the right permits to have his childhood pet live with him in Kansas City.

What permits does Steele have to acquire so Crocky-J can join him in the Kansas City area? Are alligators even allowed in the city or the state? Here’s what state law says.

Can Crocky-J stay in Kansas City?

No one is allowed to “keep or harbor” alligators within city limits under city ordinance, which means Crocky-J can’t stay in Kansas City.

The same goes for crocodiles, caimans, any wild cat species like bobcats and lynxes, any wolves or wolf/dog hybrids, or native wild animals like raccoons, skunks and foxes.

While Kansas Citians are allowed to keep lizards and non-venomous snakes as pets, it’s against city ordinance to “permit a snake or lizard to escape from a cage or while being handled.”

Is Crocky-J allowed in in Kansas or Missouri?

In Missouri, it’s illegal to keep any “deadly, dangerous, or poisonous reptile” as a pet — unless you register the animal with your county’s law enforcement agency. There are also exceptions for keeping these animals if you run a zoo, circus, animal shelter, research lab or other institution.

In Kansas, “dangerous regulated animals” are defined as most big cats, bears and non-native venomous snakes. Residents who keep these animals are subject to strict regulations, but alligators are not among them.

That means it can be legal to keep alligators as pets in both Missouri and Kansas — but not in Kansas City. Other cities can also prohibit the animals, as Overland Park does.

Steele would need to keep his eyes glued to him, though, as local laws in Lee’s Summit and Independence say the owner or handler shall permit no reptile to escape while being handled. Other cities like Leawood require the animal to be secure at all times.

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