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CANTON OBSERVER (Michigan) 09 December 04 Police order man to remove snakes (Jack Gladden)
A Canton man who has more than 50 poisonous snakes and some tarantulas in his home on Brighton Lane in the southwest portion of the township has promised police he'll have them out of his house by 7 p.m. Friday.
The existence of the snakes came to light after their owner, Rudolph Hatfield, 51, was bitten by his pet 9-foot-long bushmaster, while he was attempting to clean its cage on Dec. 4.
He was on his way to his daughter's house for help when he lost control of his car and went into a ditch. When police came upon the scene and were told what had happened, Hatfield was taken to St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia, where officials contacted the Detroit Zoo for an antidote to the venom.
He was later transferred to Detroit Receiving Hospital where he was still receiving care on Wednesday.
When he told hospital officials about his other snakes, they notified Canton Police who entered the house with a search warrant on Sunday accompanied by a Detroit Zoo official.
"When the police got there and saw what they were dealing with, they called the fire department for assistance," said Canton Fire Marshal Frank Barrett. "Not that we knew how to deal with it either."
Nevertheless, they managed to capture the bushmaster and send it to the Detroit Zoo for safekeeping. The other snakes were kept in their cages and secured in their rooms.
"The guy's lucky to be alive," Barrett said. "He's lucky the Detroit Zoo had the antidote to the venom. The bushmaster is one of the most venomous snakes in the world."
Actually, according to various Internet sites, the bushmaster, which is native to Central and South America, is not the most venomous snake, but, because of its size and the size of its fangs, it injects a large amount of venom when it bites.
The Australian Taipan snake is generally considered to be the world's deadliest, with a bite that is reportedly 50 times more toxic than a cobra's.
And, according to Canton Police Sgt. Rick Pomorski, Hatfield has five of them in cages in an upstairs bedroom, along with many other varieties.
As for the bushmaster, he's not part of the family anymore.
"We entered into an agreement with him where he will surrender his right to the snake," Pomorski said. "It's at the zoo now. His request was that if the zoo wants it, please keep it for exhibit. Otherwise it will be euthanized."
Pomorski said the police wanted Hatfield to relinquish ownership of all his snakes.
"He didn't want to do that," he said. "He said he'd have them out of his house by Friday at 7 p.m."
Hatfield has been issued a civil citation by the township for violation of a township ordinance which makes it unlawful to possess certain animals, including "poisonous reptiles, spiders and insects."
A court hearing has been scheduled for next week in 35th District Court in Plymouth.
"If the snakes are not disposed of by then," Pomorski said, "we will petition the court and ask for a court order to dispose of them."
Even if the snakes are gone, the hearing will be held anyway because the township will seek restitution for costs incurred in the incident, as well as the disposition of the snakes if necessary.
Pomorski said collecting venomous snakes was apparently a hobby Hatfield had pursued for years.
"There seems to be a large interest among a number of people regarding snakes," he said. "There's a following of people. You get to know them, you network, you get them off the Internet."
He said his department has received several telephone calls from people who want to either take the snakes or assist the police in getting them out of the house.
"Apparently a lot of people like snakes," he said.
Police order man to remove snakes

..and came up with four. I just realize that Mr. Hatfield is the same Rudy Hatfield who bought my young pair of PNG taipans a number of months ago. Before agreeing to sell to him, I checked his state regulations, and it was legal for him to have them in MI so I didn't pursue the matter further. He explained to me that he had a very large collection of venomous snakes, including already having 1.2 adult PNG taipans. The reference to the person in the story having 5 taipans is, I guess, what clued me into the fact that this was the same person. I suppose he should just feel lucky that it was the bushmaster and not one of the taipans that managed to nail him. He sounded very knowledgable over the phone, so this was probably just a slip up. It is unfortunate, however, that he was pursuing keeping the snakes in a township that declared it illegal. Had I known that, I certainly would have never sold him the snakes. Well, I hope he makes a quick recovery, and I hope that the snakes aren't euthanized...that'd be a major shame considering the rarity of some of the things he keeps. I hope they are at least sent out to various zoos around the country. I couldn't really imagine a zoo euthanizing a bushmaster though anyway, not when they have the opportunity to acquire one free of charge and put it on display. I have a feeling MI's laws are about to now include a ban on venomous snake ownership....
-Chance
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Chance Duncan
2.2 Retics (1.0 Tiger Het, 1.0 Lavender, 0.1 Dark Lavender, 0.1 Normal Het)
1.1 Olive Pythons
1.1 Ball Pythons (Het Albino)
http://www.rivervalleysnakes.com

..because previously, the Detroit Zoo did not have the proper Costa Rican serum to treat the melanocephala bite in September.

I can only imaging all the people "offerint to take the snakes"...collectors with $$$ in their eyes at the prospect of getting free bushmasters. I hope he gets compensated for them!! Or better yet, they go to a qualified zoo, like Cape Fear Serpentarium!