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Pile of Dead Reptiles Discovered

Residents in west Columbus discovered a pile of dead reptiles Wednesday night.

The mysterious find of large snakes, alligators and some turtles occurred on South Yale Street.

Neighbors say the smell was awful and that someone just dumped the animals there.

They add that they tried calling wildlife officials, but reached an answering machine.

Police did come out and take a report.

http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3210583&nav=LUESYfQI

np

np

'goini04';
Posting herp-related press isn't my "union job" ... but you offer a nice segue (sp?) into something about the utility of the process.
1. It's impossible for one person to 'capture' all items, and if the forum people can monitor their own local/regional papers for items, it means that we'll capture more of a spread of material.
2. As you and "stormshadow007" have already well demonstrated, and others in a bite incident before; people that can post local press are also in a better position to post "rebuttals/confirmations/explanations" that the press items does not refer to. Your posting and comments is valuable not so much for 'local colour' (though I will admit that this forum has a significant number of strong ... ummm ... personalities) as it is for your local expertise.
3. It's a very real problem for me that more-and-more I-net papers are charging for access ... I used to collect 2,700 items a year, and last year I could only pull 2,100 ... and it'll be less than that this year. If you guys (girls) are subscribing to your local papers, you'll be able to get items that I cannot afford to collect and post. (You try living on a government salary and working 9-3, 4-days-a-week with only 90 minutes for lunch!)
Let's see now ... your posting results in immediacy, completeness of coverage and the advantage of local knowledge ... I'd say that this is the way to go in the future! But thanks for the nod though ... we're all fluffy and warm inside now (!!)
Cheers
Wes

Odd thing is, there was a large reptile shop very close to Yale that just went out of business not too long ago. I tried to go by the shop about two weeks ago, and it had been closed. I would say it was about ten minutes from Yale Street. Coincidence??

Do you remember what it was called? I am only familiar with only one reptile shop in the columbus area.

Several people called 10TV Wednesday night complaining about a pile of dead reptiles dumped in their neighborhood.

They found dead snakes, alligators and turtles lying in an alley on the near west side.

By Thursday afternoon, the pile had been removed. But authorities were still trying to determine where the dead animals came from.

The Columbus Sanitation Department picked up the pile early Thursday morning. Sanitation workers say there were adult and baby alligators, boa constrictors at least 6 feet long, turtles, bags of fish and other discarded animals.

Neighbors say that a lot of things have been dumped in their alley before. But the man who made the bizarre discovery says he has no idea where the latest waste came from.

"There’s people who are known to dump off auto parts, dump off cars… stuff like that. You may see a dead cat or something like that there. But not 60 or 70 dead animals, and especially reptilian type," Henry Brake told 10TV.

Columbus sanitation district manager Bob Armstrong says the odor from the waste made it hard for the driver to even haul the garbage.

City officials made it clear that it is illegal to dump any dead animals. At the minimum, it's a third degree misdemeanor, punishable by a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.

The penalties with so-called "exotic" animals could be more severe. The Columbus Health Department was investigating, along with police.

Authorities said no area pet shops had any idea whether the reptiles originally came from their stores.
http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3214215&nav=LUESYhXI