Snake seizeure in washington

So my insomnia is keeping me up and on Msnbc they do a quick clip of a snake seizure in Washington state. here is the link
http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/j...nakes-in-raid/

Seems to have great timing(for s373).. granted he mostly had venomous but it still will scare people into voting for it. :snake:

Jeff

The article conspicuously does not mention why the home was raided. It also said that the animals all looked well fed and healthy, so obviously neglect of the animals wasn't the reason, and if they're waiting to "sort out the legalities" before pressing charges, it almost sounds like they're not sure it was illegal for him to have them. There just has to be more to this story than is being told.

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Originally Posted by olstyn

The article conspicuously does not mention why the home was raided.

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The discovery came late Thursday morning during a raid of a home at 815 E. 32nd St. by animal control officers, Vancouver police and wildlife agents. The officials had a court warrant to search the home for illegal snakes, Kraff said

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Sure, a warrant; what was the cause of said warrant? What constitutes an "illegal snake" in that jurisdiction, and is the law in question one that makes sense?

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The 40 snakes, including 34 that are venomous, were found in cages affixed to the wall and looked well-fed and healthy, officials said.

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The snakes’ owner had taken precautions for the children’s safety, officials said.

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Here is the state law that I found:

Washington
Category: B

Summary of Law: No person may possess or breed a potentially dangerous animal after July, 2007. A potentially dangerous animal includes but not limited to Large cats, wolves, bears, hyenas, non-human primates, elephants, alligators, crocodiles, water monitors, crocodile monitors; and various species of venomous snakes.

According to this info it is illegal for him to keep venomous snakes and alligators. I would imagine someone found out he had them and turned him in. But I am glad to see that at least they did mention that all precautions were taken and that the animals were healthy.


I heard of someone who had a Hedgehog in AZ and apparently she talked to much and was turned into game and fish. They got a warrent and searched her house and confiscated the animal.

Hm, if it's illegal to keep venomous and crocodilians, then one wonders what the wait is to "sort out the legalities." Just charge the guy with illegal possession and be done with it. On a separate note, why confiscate the retic and the other nonvenomous snakes? It doesn't sound like those were a violation, apart from potentially falling under the catch all "but not limited to" clause in that statute. For that matter, "various species of venomous snakes" is pretty vague, too. You'd think that would have been written "all species of venomous snakes" or have referenced a list of permitted vs illegal animals. It sure seems like the laws in this country could use a serious review, with anything vague, unclear, or ridiculous being rewritten or repealed, as appropriate.

Well reviewing the laws unfortunately is a double edge sword sometime..:cool:

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

Here is the state law that I found:

Washington
Category: B

Summary of Law: No person may possess or breed a potentially dangerous animal after July, 2007. A potentially dangerous animal includes but not limited to Large cats, wolves, bears, hyenas, non-human primates, elephants, alligators, crocodiles, water monitors, crocodile monitors; and various species of venomous snakes.

According to this info it is illegal for him to keep venomous snakes and alligators. I would imagine someone found out he had them and turned him in. But I am glad to see that at least they did mention that all precautions were taken and that the animals were healthy.


I heard of someone who had a Hedgehog in AZ and apparently she talked to much and was turned into game and fish. They got a warrent and searched her house and confiscated the animal.

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"When Trisha Kraff first descended into the basement of a home in Vancouver’s Shumway neighborhood"

The article is from Vancouver Canada!! You americans are not the only place with bone headed laws!
British Columbia Controlled Alien Species Regulation under the BC Wildlife Act.

http://aqua-terra-vita.net/catal/ if you go to british columbia on the left side drop down (legislative alerts) you will see the act among other controlled alien species is Canis Lupus Familiarus (dogs)
Alex

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

I would imagine someone found out he had them and turned him in...

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I think one possible scenario is, he does have kids, and maybe they said something at school about their pets, and school officials turned him in...