A 13-foot python was rescued from a New York home after its owner admitted he could no longer care for it. A statement from the Department of Environmental Conservation said the unnamed owner acknowledged he did not realize the snake would grow to be so large. He was fined for keeping “dangerous wildlife without a permit.”
Environment Conservation Police Officer (ECO) Jeff Hull responded to a complaint from a neighbor and found the snake enclosed in a small cage. The snake was nevertheless in good health and weighed approximately 80 pounds. Mr. Hull posted a photo of the animal to social media and confirmed that keeping it in a private residence is illegal in the state of New York. He explained that the animal would now live in the Fort Rickey Discovery Zoo in Rome.
Experts say that the trade in unusual pets causes intense suffering to animals and this often extends to their captivity in private homes. Campaigners called for more robust law enforcement after the Department of Justice confirmed that very few prosecutions had taken place. The last major case involved a New York City company, Bronx Reptiles, in 1995. In that case, Bruce Edelman was found guilty and sentenced to five years probation for importing animals in inhumane conditions, but that verdict was eventually overturned when his attorneys argued he did not know the animals would suffer.
Clifford Warwick, an independent reptile biologist and animal welfare specialist, said that animal cruelty has been normalized in the United States and is driven by human greed. He cites a 2020 study revealing that 3.4 billion live animals were imported to the US between 2000 and 2014. Half of these were captured from their natural habitat, held in confinement, and sold to the American market for the pet trade.
Legal experts say that most animal rights and protections are enacted at the state level. The few federal protections include the Animal Welfare Act of 1966, which banned dog and cock fighting nationwide. The Endangered Species Act from 1973 criminally punishes harmful activity toward animals with dwindling numbers, while the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act of 2019 outlawed “crush videos.” These are videos showing small animals being tortured for entertainment.
