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'Operation Slither' Yields Over 1000 Reptiles
Jan. 10, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A sting operation in search of reptiles being kept or sold illegally led to a lot of confiscations and one trip to the hospital for a snake bite.

"Operation Slither" was conducted on Friday, part of a sting aimed at stopping the illegal possession and selling of reptiles. Search warrants were served on two Salt Lake County homes and one in Davis County. One home included more than 1,000 reptiles.

State and federal wildlife officials confiscated about 100 illegal animals and several computers for evidence. Among the species collected were Gila monsters and several varieties of snakes.

Law enforcement officials also visited another home, where a resident was bitten on the hand by a rattlesnake.

"We didn't have enough information for a search warrant, but we talked to someone at the house and were invited in. A person was handling a rattlesnake when we walked in and he was bitten," said Rudy Musclow, chief of law enforcement for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. "He went to the hospital, but we don't believe the snake injected any venom. That is part of why we don't allow people to have venomous snakes."

It is against the law to collect or possess venomous snakes in Utah without a permit. Nonvenomous reptiles were also seized because it is illegal to collect animals with limited distribution in the wild.

The two-year investigation came to a head when state and federal wildlife officials simultaneously served search warrants in Utah, Arizona and California on Friday morning. No Utahns were arrested Friday, but the suspects could face charges of unlawful possession and collection of reptiles and Lacey Act violations for interstate commerce of protected wildlife.

Conservation officers are accustomed to dealing with strange environments when serving warrants, but Friday's job was a little more interesting than the rest.

"Whenever you serve a search warrant, you feel uncomfortable because you are invading someone's private space, but this was a residential house with 1,000 snakes in it. It was really hot and uncomfortable, and there was quite an interesting smell," Musclow said.

Lt. Mike Fowlkes said the snakes will be held as evidence, but that they would be taken care of.

"We have professionals to feed them and keep them healthy for as long as it takes," he said.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)




Just thought I'd share
thanks
Rusty

Yikes! That's a big bust. I recently learned it's illegal to keep native species in GA, so my friends who have had corn snakes were violating the law.

That's awesome! I'm glad to hear so many people got busted. That's like out her ein AZ, the laws for venomous and exotics, well, AND native species are VERY strict and by the book. It kind of sucks, but it sure keeps herpers in check! :)

(The biggest thing that sucks is we don't get to have Gila monsters here. We can't even TOUCH them!!) :(

Jennifer

Oh, and there are little ways around that, Marla. Corn snakes are also found within a broad range of the US. Therefore, you would never be able to PROVE if it was CB or WC in GA. So, I believe (don't quote me) that your friends weren't necissarily braking the law ;) UNLESS of course they shouted out to everyone that they caught them in their backyards! LOL!

Jennifer

No, you can't own/keep species that can be found in Georgia without a permit. So a California King is okay, but a Black Kingsnake is illegal. Here's the law as explained on the DNR site. My friends were breaking the law but probably had no idea.

Is that you, Marla? ;) :lol:

And thanks for clarifying, BTW.

BUSTED. well atleast they are being taken care of and like stuff how would u fit 1000 snakes in a house. supposeing it is 3 bedroom and like 2bath ro something...? wouldn't that be harder or something. i mean like u would have to like have a heating system and keep the house heca warm....

Yup, sorry. The site keeps logging me out for some reason! Arrgghh! I was logged in on the front page, clicked through and then wasn't.

Posted on the home page. Thanks Rusty.

Always a very good idea to check with the local Department of Fish and Game concerning any local species you might want to keep. Quite often, it's a simple matter of just getting the correct permits, which if done ahead of time isn't nearly as complicated as it can be if you try to get them AFTER the Game Wardens catch you with something you're not supposed to have.

Hoomi, yeah, but how dumb is it that I could have a non-native rattlesnake or cobra or retic if I wanted, but not a native (non-endangered) garter snake, corn snake, or kingsnake? Somebody was huffing paint when they wrote the regulations for Georgia.

That was me. I got bumped out again, <2 minutes after logging in! Arrrrgggh.

Did you close the window or anything?

Nope. I use a tabbed browser that I just leave open and occasionally come back to, unless I have to reboot.

Oh, no argument about some of the laws seeming pretty stupid. Really, that's one of the biggest reasons to check with the local authorities about such things. If the laws were simply common sense, then most of us would already know what was OK and not OK.

In most states, as far as I know, you cannot keep a bird of prey without going through some training and certification in the proper care and handling thereof, but you can buy a retic or a burmese python with little to no regard to whether you understand what you're getting yourself into and whether you're ready for such an animal. I'm not suggesting that we need to start licensing people to keep reptiles, but maybe it would make sense if herp sellers would take the time to be sure the buyers know what the care requirements AND "challenges" of keeping the various reptiles are before selling to someone. I know of at least a couple of pet shops that wouldn't sell someone a salt water aquarium set-up until they had talked to the person to be sure they understood what all was involved in maintaining a marine aquarium. It isn't being "elitist" or anything; it's being sure that both the customer AND the pet have the best potential for long term happiness in their relationship.

Agreed, Hoomi. I think it would make sense to require at least minimal licensing for any animal capable of causing harm by envenomating humans or standard household pets or any exotic animal which normally reaches over, say 10 ft in length or 100 lbs, or any endangered animal or any animal species/breed which has caused more than [i]n[/] serious injuries to humans in the US in the last x years. Require a license to keep an alligator, rattlesnake, reticulated python, pit bull, or manatee, and you'll get no argument from me, but I think it's ridiculous to require one for garter snakes, kingsnakes, or corn snakes.