By Tom Palmer
THE LEDGER
Published: Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 3:14 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 3:14 p.m.
LAKELAND | Justin Matthews’ account of capturing a 14-foot Burmese python gave him 15 minutes of fame last month in the opening days of a statewide anti-python campaign.
Trapper Justin Matthews is shown with the 14-foot python he claimed to have captured last month.
Thursday he got his 15 minutes of infamy at a press conference convened by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission after wildlife officials concluded the whole thing was staged.
Matthews, owner of Matthews Wildlife Rescue in Bradenton, apologized Thursday for staging the event.
He reported capturing the python in a utility pipe near a daycare center July 25.
In fact, the snake was one he had purchased legally a month before from Southeast Reptile Exchange in Tampa, said Wildlife Commission spokesman Gary Morse.
Morse said Matthews’ story unraveled Wednesday after he admitted to a Wildlife Commission investigator that he had faked the capture.
Wildlife Commission investigators had been alerted to the possibility Matthews’ story was a hoax shortly after the incident was publicized, Morse said.
Matthews told Bay News 9 that he had bought the snake, which he called Sweetie, at a Tampa reptile store and then staged the capture, saying the snake was found in a culvert in Bradenton.
He said the staging was part of a plan to educate the public about the python problem.
Matthews said, when the original owner who sold the snake to the reptile store saw his snake on the news, he contacted the Wildlife Commission.
“I do want to apologize to anybody that thinks this was wrong, what I did,” Matthews told Bay News 9. “To me, I’ll never do it again but as is turns out, like I say, I’m getting more calls, and I did raise awareness by doing this.”
Morse said the case is still under investigation and no charges have been filed.
Morse said he doesn’t expect Matthews will be charged with allowing the snake to escape since it appeared to have been under his control throughout the entire incident.
However, he may be charged with not having implanted a microchip into the snake, though Morse acknowledged state law is vague regarding how soon the chip must be installed.
Violation of that law is a second-degree misdemeanor, Morse said. Second-degree misdemeanors carry a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Morse would not speculate on Matthews’ motive in the incident.
He said Matthews has previously had a good reputation as a state-licensed reptile trapper and had rendered good service.
Matthews’ trapping license is not in danger of revocation as a result of the incident, Morse said.
Florida wildlife officials launched a campaign earlier this summer to allow licensed trappers to capture Burmese pythons in the wilds of South Florida.
The campaign was launched after a pet python escaped from its cage and killed a child in Sumter County and as a result of growing concerns about the effects of a wild population in the Everglades on native wildlife.
The exact size of Florida’s python population is unknown, but is estimated to number in the thousands.
Morse said, despite the Sumter County incident, pythons are generally not a threat to humans, though they are large and potentially dangerous animals.
The main threat continues to be to native wildlife, he said.
[ Tom Palmer can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7535. Bay News 9 contributed to this report. ]
THE LEDGER
Published: Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 3:14 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 3:14 p.m.
LAKELAND | Justin Matthews’ account of capturing a 14-foot Burmese python gave him 15 minutes of fame last month in the opening days of a statewide anti-python campaign.
Trapper Justin Matthews is shown with the 14-foot python he claimed to have captured last month.
Thursday he got his 15 minutes of infamy at a press conference convened by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission after wildlife officials concluded the whole thing was staged.
Matthews, owner of Matthews Wildlife Rescue in Bradenton, apologized Thursday for staging the event.
He reported capturing the python in a utility pipe near a daycare center July 25.
In fact, the snake was one he had purchased legally a month before from Southeast Reptile Exchange in Tampa, said Wildlife Commission spokesman Gary Morse.
Morse said Matthews’ story unraveled Wednesday after he admitted to a Wildlife Commission investigator that he had faked the capture.
Wildlife Commission investigators had been alerted to the possibility Matthews’ story was a hoax shortly after the incident was publicized, Morse said.
Matthews told Bay News 9 that he had bought the snake, which he called Sweetie, at a Tampa reptile store and then staged the capture, saying the snake was found in a culvert in Bradenton.
He said the staging was part of a plan to educate the public about the python problem.
Matthews said, when the original owner who sold the snake to the reptile store saw his snake on the news, he contacted the Wildlife Commission.
“I do want to apologize to anybody that thinks this was wrong, what I did,” Matthews told Bay News 9. “To me, I’ll never do it again but as is turns out, like I say, I’m getting more calls, and I did raise awareness by doing this.”
Morse said the case is still under investigation and no charges have been filed.
Morse said he doesn’t expect Matthews will be charged with allowing the snake to escape since it appeared to have been under his control throughout the entire incident.
However, he may be charged with not having implanted a microchip into the snake, though Morse acknowledged state law is vague regarding how soon the chip must be installed.
Violation of that law is a second-degree misdemeanor, Morse said. Second-degree misdemeanors carry a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Morse would not speculate on Matthews’ motive in the incident.
He said Matthews has previously had a good reputation as a state-licensed reptile trapper and had rendered good service.
Matthews’ trapping license is not in danger of revocation as a result of the incident, Morse said.
Florida wildlife officials launched a campaign earlier this summer to allow licensed trappers to capture Burmese pythons in the wilds of South Florida.
The campaign was launched after a pet python escaped from its cage and killed a child in Sumter County and as a result of growing concerns about the effects of a wild population in the Everglades on native wildlife.
The exact size of Florida’s python population is unknown, but is estimated to number in the thousands.
Morse said, despite the Sumter County incident, pythons are generally not a threat to humans, though they are large and potentially dangerous animals.
The main threat continues to be to native wildlife, he said.
[ Tom Palmer can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7535. Bay News 9 contributed to this report. ]
