Today's news from Utah

http://news.yahoo.com/collector-keep...211415295.html

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah snake collector who says his rare boa constrictors are getting a bad rap has won at least a temporary reprieve from an order to remove more than two dozen of the exotic pets from his home.

Cottonwood Heights police cited Thomas Cobb a week ago for failure to have an exotic pet permit and told him he had until Friday to get rid of all but one of his 29 boa constrictors.

Cobb values the snakes at $12,000 apiece and said he spent $100,000 on a special room in his basement with top-of-the-line cages. Some of the snakes are as long as 7 feet. Police officers noted in their report the setup was clean and well-kept.

City council members agreed on Friday to look into the case further after Cobb argued that a local ordinance is confusing.

Cobb got the attention of the council and the mayor after he took his fight against the snake eviction to the Internet and local radio shows. He maintains he's the victim, in part, of the public's distaste for snakes in general.

"We see movies, we see 'Snakes on a Plane,' we see 'Anaconda,' we see these movies where snakes are portrayed as monsters and can eat school buses, and that is not the case," he told The Deseret News (http://tinyurl.com/cajkcvn).

Cobb praised the council for having an open mind.

"I am pleased to find that they are at least willing to take and investigate further rather than make assumptions and going off on maybe their personal belief on snakes and maybe the reptile hobby keeping in general," he said.

Cottonwood Heights police Sgt. Dan Bartlett said a neighbor spotted one of the snakes and called police to Cobb's home last week. He said officers also found 80 rats, which were being kept as food for the snakes.

Cobb was cited for failing to have the permit required when anyone owns more than one exotic pet. He disputes that interpretation and maintains he needs to show only that he can properly care for the snakes, that they do not pose a danger to the public and that he has knowledge of the animals.

Cobb is scheduled to meet again with the council on May 7. He said he has invited all of the council members to his house to see the snakes firsthand, but as of Friday no one had taken him up on the offer.

I keep telling them to change their cite on value.... It's a range UP TO 12... not every one . They keep getting that wrong haha. Thanks for posting it up!

Wait, the media was wrong? No way! You can't expect them to change that now, as soon as it was printed it became true! Hope it all works out in your favor though!

Thanks Brian. Council meeting is tomorrow. I am prepared. :-)

Good luck Thomas! I hope it all works out in your favor.

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

Good luck Thomas! I hope it all works out in your favor.

Thanks April. I had a meeting with the city council yesterday, along with the mayor/chief of police and city attorneys/officials etc.

I'll have a formal update shortly about the current status of the situation. I can say that as of right this second, all my animals are still in my possession and are at my personal residence! The city is making every effort to keep an open dialogue and as openly minded as possible. Most of what I have seen, from the individuals opposed, is a disdain for the animals themselves, not the situation. Which, is not a valid reasoning when you come down to brass tax.

Don't know if this is against the rules, but here is a petition started by a fella name Norman Brown. Whilst I HAVE been granted permits, this still should be signed for anyone wanting to fight for our rights as reptile enthusiasts and hobbyists. Spread the word. We have 35+ countries on this petition.

Updates on my plight can be found, well all over the freaking internet ;/

Thank you!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/215/9...7203&cid=fb_na

I've added another country!