Girard, Ohio herp laws?

[MontyP2016]

I have been searching online for about a month now and cannot find an ounce of law dealing with this small towns animal laws. I only post this now because of a family/neighbor dispute that resulted in the local law shining a light on my residence and I'm sure the next time they will want to come inside, just don't want any negative ramificatiins. Petty is an underatatement of this town with the laws and the people in it, I've only been living here a few months and already want to leave. There are many herp hobbyists and breeders alike around here and as far as laws go, all I'm getting is local opinion. I've read that in Ohio you can own a snake under 12 feet as long as it's not venomous but I'm 'hearing' that:
#1. 6' and over is prohibited
#2. Any snakes that constrict are prohibited
And my favorite...
#3. If the cops say you cant have it, you cant have it, no matter what the law says lol

As a person I basically only follow laws that I believe in (if there is no cars coming, I dont fully stop at the stop sign, I dont wear a seatbelt, etc)
I know a lot of my fellow herpers from Girard are on here, any FACTs about the local laws? Please & Thank you!

Ps. If you dont know where its at, Girard is very close to Niles, Oh which was recently heavily covered over their ridiculous herp laws

[Neal]

I have been searching online for about a month now and cannot find an ounce of law dealing with this small towns animal laws. I only post this now because of a family/neighbor dispute that resulted in the local law shining a light on my residence and I'm sure the next time they will want to come inside, just don't want any negative ramificatiins. Petty is an underatatement of this town with the laws and the people in it, I've only been living here a few months and already want to leave. There are many herp hobbyists and breeders alike around here and as far as laws go, all I'm getting is local opinion. I've read that in Ohio you can own a snake under 12 feet as long as it's not venomous but I'm 'hearing' that:
#1. 6' and over is prohibited
#2. Any snakes that constrict are prohibited
And my favorite...
#3. If the cops say you cant have it, you cant have it, no matter what the law says lol

As a person I basically only follow laws that I believe in (if there is no cars coming, I dont fully stop at the stop sign, I dont wear a seatbelt, etc)
I know a lot of my fellow herpers from Girard are on here, any FACTs about the local laws? Please & Thank you!

Ps. If you dont know where its at, Girard is very close to Niles, Oh which was recently heavily covered over their ridiculous herp laws

While some laws are stupid, at the end of the day it's better to follow than to end up in jail, or with a huge fine. I do agree with you that it's stupid they have different laws for state and then local laws.

[Willowy]

Talk to the people at city hall, they can set you up with some printouts of the local ordinances. That's the only way to find out for sure.

And of course you probably know: never allow law enforcement into your home without a warrant. Remember they are allowed to lie to you so don't believe anything they say. Find a lawyer. They usually stop harassing people once they find out they have the resources to hire a lawyer. And don't be antagonistic, just firm and matter-of-fact.

[Spikeanoid]

Police enforce the laws, not make them. If there's nothing that says you CAN'T do it, you probably can.

[MontyP2016]

Thanks, about the warrant, does the humane society have to have a warrant to enter? I know game warden has extensive jurisdiction and can do more than the local police can, I'm just not sure what the Humane Society can or cannot do. Thanks again

[BPGator]

Here's what I've found from a quick google search:

On the City of Girard, OH website (http://www.cityofgirard.com/) you can go to the codified ordinances link to see the towns municipal codes.

Go to Part 5 - General Offenses, Chap 505 - Animals and Fowl, Section 505.13 - Dangerous wild animals and restricted snakes.

The way I read it, you can basically have anything except for a restricted snake, which is defined in Ohio R.C. 935.01(L)(1).:

(L) "Restricted snake" means any of the following:
(1) All of the following constricting snakes that are twelve feet or longer: (a) Green anacondas;
(b) Yellow anacondas;
(c) Reticulated pythons;
(d) Indian pythons;
(e) Burmese pythons;
(f) North African rock pythons;
(g) South African rock pythons;
(h) Amethystine pythons.

(2) Species of the following families: (a) Atractaspididae;
(b) Elapidae;
(c) Viperidae.
(3) Boomslang snakes;
(4) Twig snakes.

The way the code reads, it seems like you can have anything, you just need to follow special rules if you have a "dangerous wild animal or restricted snake". You should be fine if you don't have any contrictors over 12' feet is prohibited or snakes that fall into those families (I imagine most if not all are poisonous). Hope this helps.

[BPGator]

I should also add, if you're ever concerned with local animal laws, contact the town's animal control and they can usually give you the info you need. They would be the ones that enforce the laws if animals are involved. Wherever I've lived, I've always found them to be helpful.


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[Coluber42]

If you are honestly worried about what what law enforcement will see if they enter your home, it would a good idea to take willowy's advice and obtain a copy of any applicable local statues. Keep a print out of it next to your enclosures. And do the same with state laws just to on the safe side.

In any case, your city's home page links to this site:
http://www.conwaygreene.com/GIRARD.HTM
Do a keyword search for snake. It appears that prohibited snakes include anything prohibited by the state, plus harmless venomous snakes and "members of the boa constructor family" (definitely vague wording there). You aren't allowed to keep rats, either.

[MontyP2016]

BPGator, everything you wrote looks exactly the same as our state law says, scroll down to what Coluber wrote, I found that out lastnight after typing this original post. Cant keep rats?! How insanely redundant is that?! Not only do 2 of my snakes eat rats (my others eat adult mice still) but I also breed them. Due to the bs of the day yesterday, we actually found an out-we-re moving to a house 15 minutes away where my dogs, snakes, & rats are legal. This city is 100% the worst place I have ever lived! Only 3 weeks and we'll be in our new home, which kind've sucks after spending over 10k on fixing this one up, but I'm not about to lose my animals over my idiotic neighbors just because she hates dogs (and any other animal except she doesnt know about the others I have).

[BPGator]

I saw that after my post that there is a different section in the code that says no rats or boa constrictors. It's almost like you can have a BP but you can't feed it rats (stupid). I would honestly call Animal Control and talk to them. They are the arm of the law for enforcement of this section of the code.


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