SUN-GAZETTE (Springfield Virginia) 23 April 08 C. Board to Consider Narrow Prohibition on Snakes as Pets (Scott McCaffrey)

County Board members on April 22 started a process that could see poisonous snakes outlawed as pets across Arlington by summer.

But, at the same time, board members backed away from a broader ban on owning exotic or potentially dangerous pets, saying more study was needed.

Board members voted 5-0 set a May public hearing on changes to the county code to outlaw venomous pets as snakes.

“In our urban environment, venomous snakes, venomous reptiles are not appropriate,” County Board Ron Carlee told board members.

If the ban is enacted in May - as appears likely - owners of such pets would have at least 30 days, perhaps more, to find new homes for them.

The prohibition also would apply to poisonous reptiles other than snakes, such as gila monsters, but county officials say there is no evidence any such reptiles are being kept as pets in the county.

Under the legal language to be considered next month, possession of a poisonous snake or reptile would be considered a misdemeanor offense, but individuals could be charged with separate counts every day an animal is kept in violation of the adopted ordinance.

County Board members balked at advertising initial staff language that proposed an additional ban on “dangerous” but non-poisonous snakes. Such a ban would have applied to boa constrictors and pythons, among others.

Carlee agreed that limiting the scope of the ordinance to venomous snakes and reptiles was reasonable, for the time being.

“We don't have a clear definition of what 'dangerous' is,” he said.

The proposal to ban venomous reptiles was fast-tracked after one homeowner was found to have a large number of poisonous snakes, including two that escaped from the home and were in the neighborhood for some time.

How effectively a ban on snakes could be enforced remains to be seen. County officials would need probable cause and a search warrant in order to enter private property to see if snakes were being kept.

While the current proposal looks only at snakes and reptiles, Carlee said he is eager to hold conversations with his counterparts across Northern Virginia, in hopes of setting uniform standards on dangerous animals as pets.

Currently, some localities have no restrictions at all, while others have enacted stringent restrictions.

“We have a real patchwork of laws in Northern Virginia,” Carlee said.

(And a quirky patchword, it is: Fairfax bans ownership of monkeys, panthers and crocodiles, while Prince William bans owning pet bears and groundhogs, among others, Arlington officials said.)
C. Board to Consider Narrow Prohibition on Snakes as Pets

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