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Bad Guy Paul's Reptile Circus/Paul Larosa - Sickening Husbandry & Neglected Reptiles

Ah, I missed that part... MT. horns, esp. as fresh imports, are so fragile - if not set up correctly right away, they'll just waste away... Definitely not an animal he should have, (not that he should have ANY!) I hope someone tracks him down and rescues his animals. :(
 
I just received the following message regarding Paul Larosa's Reptile Circus.

"Hey, Shannon... Remember Paul Larosa/Reptile Circus? The Ma. Environmental Police paid him a visit some time ago and confiscated a number of illegal animals and fostered others out that were salvageable. I kept forgetting to mention this, sorry.

My friend asked me not to disclose details of the "bust" because he's still only charged, not convicted. The EP do not :censored: around, believe me."

The only way I had permission to pass on this message was on the condition the person who told me about it remained anonymous as they are a local and do not want their name involved. But I am sure people were wondering what happened, and I am certainly glad to hear that it wasn't a waste of time, and that he didn't just *poof* off the internet and get away with it.
 
Appears that Paul is getting back into the hobby and is now in Revere, MA. His Facebook page is here which appears to show a print ad he took out - https://www.facebook.com/Reptile-circus-1520362161514514/timeline?__mref=message_bubble. Will also include the ad as an attachment in case it is removed.

He recently contacted Northeastern Reptile Welfare League, a non-profit reptile rescue, looking to adopt. Would encourage everyone to read through this post before deciding to sell/adopt a reptile to Paul Larosa.
 

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  • reptile circus ad.jpg
    reptile circus ad.jpg
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I hope the place he contacted looking to get animals from is familiar with his story?
I hope he finds something else to do, like model trains or something not alive. He needs to not have animals.
 
This is absolutely sickening.

OP, would you mind if I snagged some of these screen captures and put them on my personal Facebook to help raise awareness about these awful conditions and whatnot?

Absolutely awful..


-Misty
 
tlmoon said:
I hope the place he contacted looking to get animals from is familiar with his story?
Click to expand...

Whenever we have someone contact looking to adopt, before I eve bother to respond with the adoption application I take a few minutes to see if there is anything that pops up as a red flag about them... it really didn't take too much digging to find out this guys history.
 
This is repugnant. He should be charged with animal abuse. I wonder how many animals have died in his care. No heating, no bedding, newspaper everywhere, broken glass in the cages. He's pathetic. I wonder if the skink lost it's toes to the glass pieces. I can't believe some people.
 
Nice blurry pics making it hard to see the animals properly on that page. Those original photos are so gross, those poor animals.
 
Random question, and please let me know if this is or is not the correct place to post this.

In the case of dogs or cats we have PETA or the ASPCA, but who de we have for the defense of reptiles? I've heard of USARK but from everything in gathering, they are more for the protection of the breeder in terms of rights, state laws, and keeping us informed on policies like the Lacey Act.

Basically, is there any non-profit organization that specifically deals with the treatment and well being of reptiles? I haven't found any and would love to look into the legal steps it takes to start one.

Thank You,
Hunter Wallis
WWR


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
If you just search 'Reptile Circus' on facebook, there is a page from 2012 'Reptile Circus MUST STOP'. So this has been going on for years
 
hwallis13 said:
In the case of dogs or cats we have PETA or the ASPCA, but who de we have for the defense of reptiles? I've heard of USARK but from everything in gathering, they are more for the protection of the breeder in terms of rights, state laws, and keeping us informed on policies like the Lacey Act.

Basically, is there any non-profit organization that specifically deals with the treatment and well being of reptiles? I haven't found any and would love to look into the legal steps it takes to start one.
Click to expand...
I don't know of a national organization. A lot of states have local/small reptile rescues with a 501c3/charitable designation. Each state has a web site where the Secretary of State lets you look up business names, you can search for ones with "reptile" in it and then pick out the rescues.
 
There are no national organizations that relate specifically to reptile welfare and cruelty cases. Unlike dogs, cats, and domesticated species there are few - if any - regulations in many states that enforce housing/care/veterinary treatment of reptiles and other exotic animals. Generally the focus on reptile keeping tends to be limited to what someone can/cannot own, and nothing related to humane care and housing.
Anyone running an animal-related business *MAY* fall under more scrutiny (such as pet stores and exhibitors who have to have facility inspections and licenses) but these are not always enforced and the line between "private keeper" and "business" seems to get very fuzzy, especially with the many poorly defined regulations pertaining to such things.
When a public shelter/humane society investigates animal cruelty cases, they typically have a contract with a local animal control officer or have a cruelty investigator on their payroll - animal control officers have full police powers which allow them to issue fines, confiscate animals, or take legal action against an offending owner.
Unfortunately because basically ALL reptile-specific rescues are private individuals who offer their time and resources out of their own pockets there aren't many resources to employ law officers to investigate cruelty cases. When a case of animal cruelty is found, we're basically at the mercy of the local state/county sherifs office or the fish & game department to investigate and make the decision on whether or not the offending owner is doing something "illegal"... and the public opinion being what it is in regards to exotic animals, these types of complaints are rarely investigated beyond a single call or visit. The best chance we generally have to actually getting people like this shut down is waiting for them to have in their possession a species that is illegal to keep - This then falls under the jurisdiction of the Fish & Wildlife department - the F&W is generally a bit more enthusiastic to take action against cases like this than regular law enforcement.

hwallis13 said:
Random question, and please let me know if this is or is not the correct place to post this.

In the case of dogs or cats we have PETA or the ASPCA, but who de we have for the defense of reptiles? I've heard of USARK but from everything in gathering, they are more for the protection of the breeder in terms of rights, state laws, and keeping us informed on policies like the Lacey Act.

Basically, is there any non-profit organization that specifically deals with the treatment and well being of reptiles? I haven't found any and would love to look into the legal steps it takes to start one.

Thank You,
Hunter Wallis
WWR


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the informative post Christina - I was wondering about this too. I guess it's up to all of us to keep informed and help out where we can when herps are being neglected. Thank you for what you do for the animals and for the herp community!
 
NEReptileWelfare said:
There are no national organizations that relate specifically to reptile welfare and cruelty cases. Unlike dogs, cats, and domesticated species there are few - if any - regulations in many states that enforce housing/care/veterinary treatment of reptiles and other exotic animals. Generally the focus on reptile keeping tends to be limited to what someone can/cannot own, and nothing related to humane care and housing.
Anyone running an animal-related business *MAY* fall under more scrutiny (such as pet stores and exhibitors who have to have facility inspections and licenses) but these are not always enforced and the line between "private keeper" and "business" seems to get very fuzzy, especially with the many poorly defined regulations pertaining to such things.
When a public shelter/humane society investigates animal cruelty cases, they typically have a contract with a local animal control officer or have a cruelty investigator on their payroll - animal control officers have full police powers which allow them to issue fines, confiscate animals, or take legal action against an offending owner.
Unfortunately because basically ALL reptile-specific rescues are private individuals who offer their time and resources out of their own pockets there aren't many resources to employ law officers to investigate cruelty cases. When a case of animal cruelty is found, we're basically at the mercy of the local state/county sherifs office or the fish & game department to investigate and make the decision on whether or not the offending owner is doing something "illegal"... and the public opinion being what it is in regards to exotic animals, these types of complaints are rarely investigated beyond a single call or visit. The best chance we generally have to actually getting people like this shut down is waiting for them to have in their possession a species that is illegal to keep - This then falls under the jurisdiction of the Fish & Wildlife department - the F&W is generally a bit more enthusiastic to take action against cases like this than regular law enforcement.
Click to expand...

:iagree:

In addition, in the state of Massachusetts there are currently no laws/regulations for those running educational shows utilizing reptiles so he has no standards to adhere to which is, honestly, a bit frightening.
 
A few comments on a number of issues that have been brought up here. I started as a herpetology educator 40 years ago and people would call me wanting to surrender animals, which I gladly took in. When the rescue mission got to big, we formed the Herps Alive Foundation, a 501(c)3 public charity. Last year we adopted out over 260 reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates while taking in 380. This year we are on target for 500 in and 500 out through three months.
We made a point of making ourselves known to all local animal control and regulatory agencies and now have many of them directly transferring animals to us. The only exception is that in our county there is only one agency that can hold animals (statuatory) while charges are pending, however once resolved, even they transfer their animals to us. I know several reputable rescues are posting on this thread and I would hope that you have developed a good working relationship with those agencies in your neck of the woods. If not, please reach out to them.
On the topic of cruelty cases not being prosecuted, it is still bad (I could write dozens of stories for you) we are seeing improvement there and I think it is a direct result of our effort to educate those responsible. I have actually testified in a couple such cases.
Lastly, any private individual can call himself or herself a reptile rescuer (or herpetology educator, for that matter). If you participate in these activities, make sure you have all needed licenses and paperwork (including carrying insurance). One bad or unprofessional operator can make things hard for everybody who is tyring to do the right thing.
 
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