HUNTSVILLE FORESTER (Ontario) 28 November 13 Town council says no to exemption for exotic boa (Alison Brownlee)
Huntsville: A Huntsville resident approached council asking that it allow her family to keep an unusual pet.
Pamela Hutchinson asked the Town of Huntsville public infrastructure and protective services committee on Nov. 12 to let her family keep its red-tailed boa constrictor, despite the town’s exotic pet bylaw prohibiting it.
“We’ve had him now for about six years. He’s part of our family,” said Hutchinson. “I just hope that you allow me to keep him.”
A boa constrictor, according to About.com, can live for 25 to 30 years and a red-tailed boa can reach up to 10 feet in length.
But Hutchinson explained that her family’s snake is a red-tailed boa constrictor-cross, which will decrease in size. And he’s a male, which will decrease in size as well, she said.
She described the fully-grown snake as three-and-a-half feet long and two-and-a-half inches in diameter.
She brought a skin the snake had shed to the council chamber to show committee members.
“I’m hoping this would allow you to understand he’s not a threat to you or I,” she said. “He is very small.”
She said the snake is kept in an enclosure.
“He’s held by my husband and myself daily,” she said. “Otherwise, he’s held in a three-by-two-by-one-foot tank. It has screening on top and a lock because we have children.”
She said her family previously lived in the Township of Lake of Bays where snakes under two metres in length are allowed.
She said she did not realize the Town of Huntsville did not allow exotic pets when the family moved to the town in December 2012.
“But I understand that it is my responsibility to know the laws of the town,” she said.
Hutchinson explained that her husband, who is on disability, takes pride in caring for the pets.
“It’s really what keeps him going, keeps him active,” she said.
The family also has a cat, weasel, mice and two rats.
She said she had spoken with the town’s bylaw officer and heard that requests to keep snakes in the past had been unsuccessful, so she and her family were researching towns that would allow them to keep their pet.
Councillors confirmed that the snake was brought to the attention of the town’s bylaw department, which is complaint driven.
Coun. Tim Withey said he would support an exemption to the bylaw after hearing Hutchinson’s story. “It’s not an unreasonable request,” said Withey.
But Coun. Brian Thompson expressed concerns about setting a precedent if the exemption was granted.
“I’ll be voting against any exemption. We’ve got an exotic pet bylaw for a reason and I don’t think exemptions should happen,” said Thompson.
However, Coun. Chris Zanetti argued that whether an exemption should be granted depends on the animal.
“I think what we were dealing with five or six years ago was a large cat, a cougar, if I’m not mistaken. That’s quite a different situation, I would suggest, than a snake in an enclosure,” said Zanetti. “It’s a good idea to look at each situation individually.”
When a motion in favour of an exemption that would allow Hutchinson to keep the snake was presented, Withey and Thompson got into a heated debate back-and-forth.
Thompson said he had a “major problem” with the exemption.
“Even with this single exemption, it dilutes the purpose of the bylaw and now we’re setting precedent for any other person to come forward,” he said. “It’s precedence-setting and I’m steadfastly against it.”
Withey responded that he “wholeheartedly” disagreed.
“I don’t think this is precedent-setting. I think that anybody can ask for an exemption for any bylaw we have on our books on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “It’s specific to this specific request. I don’t think it’s unreasonable and I don’t think it affects anything as a precedent or anything else.”
Thompson said he found that stance uninformed.
“To say this is not precedent-setting is really sticking your head in the sand. This is precedent-setting because we are offering an amendment to our bylaw,” he said.
Withey replied that an exemption was not an amendment.
“This is a simple request for an exemption on a case basis. It’s not amending anything,” he said.
Committee voted three-to-one in favour of an exemption.
Committee members forwarded the recommendation to council for approval on Nov. 25. Council voted against the exemption.
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