Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
Game wardens raid a Virginia pet store confiscating dozens of exotic and illegal animals - including deadly snakes.
The pet store that was raided is in Bristol, Virginia, but we caught up with a Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist based out of Richmond who took part in the raid. He came back carrying a very venomous cargo.
"They're venomous snakes and they're dangerous," said wildlife biologist Donald Schwab.
A Medusa's tangle of creepy crawlers, cottonmouths and copperheads.
"There were 8 copperheads picked up and 1 cottonmouth," Schwab told us.
They also confiscated spotted salamanders, several toads. But those are small fry compared to one catch.
"Now, this guy is really bad. He goes for the throat," said Schwab. That rare fellow is on the endangered species list. He's a cane break rattler.
All of these reptiles are native to Virginia. Aside from the rattler, the questionable pets are legal to own, but it's illegal to buy and sell them. That's why they were confiscated.
"They're not things you want to be playing around with. For some reason, they're big in the pet trade. Maybe it's the danger of owning them," Schwab noted.
Unfortunately, none of these animals can be released into the wild again. They're being taken to universities for display and research.
"The cleanliness was a little questionable, mixed up with other critters, things from Asia. We don't know if they've been exposed to diseases or other parasites. We don't want to put them out in our native population," Schwab explains.
Other illegal animals taken in the raid are alligators and flying squirrels. Charges are pending against the Animal Adventures Pet Shop for trying to sell these animals.
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The pet store that was raided is in Bristol, Virginia, but we caught up with a Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist based out of Richmond who took part in the raid. He came back carrying a very venomous cargo.
"They're venomous snakes and they're dangerous," said wildlife biologist Donald Schwab.
A Medusa's tangle of creepy crawlers, cottonmouths and copperheads.
"There were 8 copperheads picked up and 1 cottonmouth," Schwab told us.
They also confiscated spotted salamanders, several toads. But those are small fry compared to one catch.
"Now, this guy is really bad. He goes for the throat," said Schwab. That rare fellow is on the endangered species list. He's a cane break rattler.
All of these reptiles are native to Virginia. Aside from the rattler, the questionable pets are legal to own, but it's illegal to buy and sell them. That's why they were confiscated.
"They're not things you want to be playing around with. For some reason, they're big in the pet trade. Maybe it's the danger of owning them," Schwab noted.
Unfortunately, none of these animals can be released into the wild again. They're being taken to universities for display and research.
"The cleanliness was a little questionable, mixed up with other critters, things from Asia. We don't know if they've been exposed to diseases or other parasites. We don't want to put them out in our native population," Schwab explains.
Other illegal animals taken in the raid are alligators and flying squirrels. Charges are pending against the Animal Adventures Pet Shop for trying to sell these animals.
Link to story