Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
Utah wildlife officials executed "Operation Slither" on Friday, part of a sting aimed at stopping the illegal possession and selling of reptiles.
Search warrants were served on three homes -- two in Salt Lake County, one in Davis County -- including one that housed more than 1,000 reptiles. Officials from state and federal wildlife agencies confiscated about 100 illegal animals and several computers for evidence.
Among the species collected Friday: Gila monsters, milk snakes, king snakes, Great Basin rattlesnakes, midget faded rattlesnakes and rubber boas.
Law enforcement officials also visited another home for a "knock and talk," which led to a trip to the hospital for a resident there.
"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 (DWR). "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 for safety reasons. The nonvenomous reptiles were seized because it is illegal to collect animals with limited distribution in the wild. Gila monsters, milk snakes and king snakes are on the state's "prohibited to collect, import or possess" list. Collection and possession of rattlesnakes in Utah is controlled by permit.
The two-year investigation came to a head when state and federal wildlife officials simultaneously served search warrants in Utah, Arizona and California Friday morning. At least one arrest was made in California, Musclow said.
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.
Other possible charges include illegal collection and importation of reptiles from Mexico.
Unlawful possession is a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in jail. If officials can prove the individuals had intent to sell the animals, they can be charged with felonies ($5,000 and up to five years).
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, who helped serve one of the warrants, said some of the officers were a little squeamish when they heard about the number of snakes they might encounter, but that they all handled the job without flinching.
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.
Word of Friday's busts was not unexpected in the world of snake hobbyists and collectors.
Jeff Mitchell, who founded Utah's Reptile Amphibian Negotiation Association (RANA) in 2001 to clarify regulations on the possession and commercialization of reptiles in the state, said he saw a tip on an online forum about a coming sting in Arizona, but that he didn't expect it to hit so close to home.
At least two of the 16 members of RANA were targeted in Friday's operation.
"When I was in charge I insisted that none of the members violated wildlife laws," said Mitchell, who lives in Orem. "If these guys have done something illegitimately, which I don't know that they have, then I want to make sure at least that everybody else [in the group] is cooperative in the investigation."
Mitchell was also disappointed about the raids because the group had worked hard to get the state to create the "Collection, Importation and Possession of Amphibians and Reptiles" proclamation.
"Before that, reptiles were bundled with mammals and birds. We went to all that trouble to get rules and then something like this happens," Mitchell said. "Utah has one of the best reptile proclamations in the western U.S. in terms of privileges to reptile enthusiasts."
Mitchell said RANA has conducted two seasons' worth of research for the DWR and that he hopes the group can continue to help the state agency in the future.
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http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Jan/01102004/utah/127732.asp
Search warrants were served on three homes -- two in Salt Lake County, one in Davis County -- including one that housed more than 1,000 reptiles. Officials from state and federal wildlife agencies confiscated about 100 illegal animals and several computers for evidence.
Among the species collected Friday: Gila monsters, milk snakes, king snakes, Great Basin rattlesnakes, midget faded rattlesnakes and rubber boas.
Law enforcement officials also visited another home for a "knock and talk," which led to a trip to the hospital for a resident there.
"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 (DWR). "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 for safety reasons. The nonvenomous reptiles were seized because it is illegal to collect animals with limited distribution in the wild. Gila monsters, milk snakes and king snakes are on the state's "prohibited to collect, import or possess" list. Collection and possession of rattlesnakes in Utah is controlled by permit.
The two-year investigation came to a head when state and federal wildlife officials simultaneously served search warrants in Utah, Arizona and California Friday morning. At least one arrest was made in California, Musclow said.
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.
Other possible charges include illegal collection and importation of reptiles from Mexico.
Unlawful possession is a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in jail. If officials can prove the individuals had intent to sell the animals, they can be charged with felonies ($5,000 and up to five years).
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, who helped serve one of the warrants, said some of the officers were a little squeamish when they heard about the number of snakes they might encounter, but that they all handled the job without flinching.
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.
Word of Friday's busts was not unexpected in the world of snake hobbyists and collectors.
Jeff Mitchell, who founded Utah's Reptile Amphibian Negotiation Association (RANA) in 2001 to clarify regulations on the possession and commercialization of reptiles in the state, said he saw a tip on an online forum about a coming sting in Arizona, but that he didn't expect it to hit so close to home.
At least two of the 16 members of RANA were targeted in Friday's operation.
"When I was in charge I insisted that none of the members violated wildlife laws," said Mitchell, who lives in Orem. "If these guys have done something illegitimately, which I don't know that they have, then I want to make sure at least that everybody else [in the group] is cooperative in the investigation."
Mitchell was also disappointed about the raids because the group had worked hard to get the state to create the "Collection, Importation and Possession of Amphibians and Reptiles" proclamation.
"Before that, reptiles were bundled with mammals and birds. We went to all that trouble to get rules and then something like this happens," Mitchell said. "Utah has one of the best reptile proclamations in the western U.S. in terms of privileges to reptile enthusiasts."
Mitchell said RANA has conducted two seasons' worth of research for the DWR and that he hopes the group can continue to help the state agency in the future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Jan/01102004/utah/127732.asp