Reptile & Amphibian Forums

WAUKESHA FREEMAN (Wisconsin) 07 December 04 Authorities: Cobra owner didn't break local, fed or state laws - Eagle board may consider new ordinance (Kollin Kosmicki)
Eagle: Once bitten and scot-free.
Recently cobra-bitten David Schneider of Eagle won’t be charged for owning his exotic animal because, according to the law, he didn’t do anything wrong. Authorities have found no local, state or federal laws that address ownership of spitting cobras.
That doesn’t sit well with village officials. So the Village Board of Trustees will discuss a possible ordinance at its meeting Thursday, said Village President Richard Spurrell.
"This was an extreme lack of judgment on this person’s part," Trustee Kate Billington said Monday. "And the village should definitely do something about it."
If the village does pursue a new law, however, it would be too late to penalize Schneider, a former pet shop owner whose African spitting cobra bit him early Wednesday morning.
Schneider, 44, was taken to Waukesha Memorial Hospital after the bite occurred when he tried feeding the snake. He was given antivenom serum provided by the Milwaukee County Zoo.
When reached at Schneider’s hospital room Monday, his wife said he declined comment.
Eagle police Chief Russell Ehlers said police have interviewed Schneider and his wife, and that they have been "very, very cooperative."
Ehlers in recent days has been researching whether Schneider broke any laws. His examination has come up empty.
Monday, he was awaiting a call back from just one last agency - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - regarding potential federal enforcement. Unless the exotic animal had been illegally imported, though, the agency won’t have jurisdiction, said special agent Ed Spoon, a spokesperson for USFWS.
There are no such laws on the local books. And while the state’s "captive wildlife" law would address ownership of spitting cobras, the state Legislature has adopted only portions of the statute - those pertaining to cougars and bears, Ehlers said.
"I strongly suspect there will be ordinances here in the future governing the keeping of such animals," Ehlers said.
Police are also aware that Schneider owns two American alligators, two pythons, a boa constrictor, an iguana, a Russian box turtle and two dogs, Ehlers has said.
Ehlers said a majority of the animals are "leftovers" from Schneider’s pet shop, Critter Dave’s Pets and Ponds in Mukwonago, which he closed about a year ago.
Although the zoo regularly handles spitting cobras - using snake hooks, gloves and masks - just one worker has been bitten since 1968, said public affairs officer Jenny Diliberti.
Authorities: Cobra owner didn't break local, fed or state laws

.
-----
Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"