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Snakes don't fly in council chambers: Man told to send his pythons packing

MUSCATINE, Iowa — A Muscatine man has been given 30 days to find new homes for two ball pythons he’s been keeping in his Park Avenue apartment.

Police Chief Brett Talkington said keeping the snakes within city limits violates a city ordinance that prohibits dangerous animals, including snakes that are venomous or constrictors.

Anthony Wolfmueller told the Muscatine City Council he was unaware of the ordinance. He said his 6-year-old child regularly handles the snakes, which are 3 1/2 and 5 feet long. The pythons eat mice and small rats and “have never struck anyone,” he said.

The city’s animal control officer, Steve McGovern, served the removal notice to Wolfmueller after the city’s code enforcement officer, Ken Rogers, found the snakes during a property inspection.

Unlike Burmese pythons, which Wolfmueller said can attain

20-foot lengths, the two ball pythons “will never be a harm to anyone,” he said.

The City Council voted 5-2, with Bob Bynum and Jeanette Phillips opposed, to grant Wolfmueller the 30-day extension.

Phillips said she fielded a call from a constituent who wondered what would be done with the pythons. The caller, Phillips said, wanted them destroyed.

“It seems from what you have told us that you’re a good caretaker,”Councilman Osama Shihadeh said. “But we have an ordinance in place, and the next person may not be such a good caretaker.”

“We have to be careful about making exceptions,” Councilman Scott Natvig added.

Councilman Mark LeRette said the City Council may want to make a few changes in the ordinance, which he called vague.

“There are a lot of [snake] breeds, some of them a foot long and not a danger to anyone,” LeRette said. “We may want to change the ordinance to make a length limit.”

After the decision was announced, Wolfmueller said he appreciated LeRette’s gesture.

“Unfortunately, all I can do is find new homes for them,” he said.

“If they want to change their ordinance, it would give us a chance to keep them and that would be wonderful.”
http://muscatinejournal.com/news/local/government-and-politics/snakes-don-t-fly-in-council-chambers-man-told-to/article_3d0924d2-4e1e-11e1-b065-001871e3ce6c.html

The ball's in the Muscatine City Council's court now: Python owners’ plea prompts members agree to discuss amending exotic animal ordinance

MUSCATINE, Iowa — Anthony Wolfmueller’s pair of pythons may get to stick around in Muscatine after all.

The City Council agreed Thursday to study — and perhaps amend — its exotic animal ordinance prohibiting constrictors, including ball pythons.

A week ago, the City Council gave Wolfmueller 30 days to find new homes for the snakes after they were discovered in his Park Avenue apartment during a routine rental inspection.

But following Wolfmueller’s

presentation Thursday during the Councils’ in-depth meeting, members decided to seek opinions and input

on the ordinance from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources

and from other experts.

Along with his request for an amendment to the city ordinance, Wolfmueller brought before the Council information on how other Iowa cities deal with snake restrictions. Wolfmeuller suggested a 10-foot length limit in Muscatine.

“I think we should give the matter a fair hearing,” said Councilman Tom Spread. “We also ought to consider licensing them, so we know what and where these critters are.”

Councilman Osama Shihadeh, while acknowledging that Wolfmueller was a good snake owner, expressed concern over the possibility that amending the ordinance would open the door to other snake owners who wouldn’t be so responsible.

“What if someone dumps one of these in a ditch?” he asked.

“That would be a problem,” Wolfmueller conceded.

“We’ll do some investigating,” Mayor DeWayne Hopkins told Wolfmueller. “The Council will

give it full consideration.”

After the in-depth session concluded, City Administrator Gregg Mandsager said that if the City Council is making progress on amending the ordinance, he can administratively extend Wolfmueller’s 30-day deadline.
http://muscatinejournal.com/news/local/government-and-politics/the-ball-s-in-the-muscatine-city-council-s-court/article_47b8b512-539d-11e1-9cfb-0019bb2963f4.html