Illegal wallaby found in East Rockaway man's garage

A malnourished wallaby, which are illegal to own in the state of New York, was found inside a garage in an East Rockaway home on Tuesday. The wallaby did not have food or water and was living in conditions unsuitable for his species.

According to authorities, Larry Wallach, an exotic animal exhibitor, owns the house at 61 Seawayne Road. Wallach was not home at the time of the discovery of the animal, according to one of his neighbors, who said that he was found unconscious in his home 11 days ago and has been in the hospital in critical care ever since.

Gary Rogers, a spokesperson for the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the wallaby was kept inside a cold, fenced-in trailer inside the garage. When he was found, he weighed approximately half the weight of an average wallaby.

“He looked very small and thin to us,” Rogers said, “and that’s why we called the vet to go there.”

According to Newsday, while the SPCA officials were waiting for a veterinarian to arrive, they fed the creature lettuce. David Kolins, the veterinarian, later ordered special wallaby food for him. Now, he is being cared for at Mineola Animal Hospital, where blood work was expected to return Wednesday afternoon.

Wallabies are native to Australia. It is unknown how long the wallaby was living inside the Seawayne Road garage, and officials are still investigating how it came to Long Island. The only state that permits a person keep a wallaby unconditionally is Colorado.

Previously, Wallach had been contacted by the United States Department of Agriculture for improper care of tigers. According to USDA records, Wallach housed “an exotic feline” in an open garage in 2008. In March 2009, he housed a wallaby in an area that did not provide adequate space for the creature and failed to provide a young tiger with the nutrition it needs.