A father and son have been charged in Washington County for keeping two small alligators at their farm near Scandia.

William Charles St. Sauver, 66, and his son William Henry St. Sauver, 30, each were charged with one misdemeanor count for keeping wild or exotic animals.

They will make their first appearance Oct. 29 in Washington County District Court.

The alligators hit the headlines a couple of weeks ago when one of them surprised two boys fishing in Goose Lake in Scandia. A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer later found one of them, named Clyde, swimming in the lake and killed it with a shotgun.

The younger St. Sauver told KARE-11 TV on Thursday that he had recovered the other alligator, named Bonnie. He said someone had stolen the alligators from a tank on the farm. He also said they were less than 3 feet long and too small to hurt anyone.

The city of Scandia recently sent a letter to the St. Sauvers informing them they were in violation of a city ordinance prohibiting exotic animals, including alligators.

Kevin Giles