SPCA collects 3 poisonous snakes at amnesty day event
Jennifer Pape, humane investigator, handles a common boa as the Suffolk County SPCA, in cooperation with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation host an Amnesty Day for illegally possessed, protected, endangered and threatened animals at their Headquarters in Smithtown, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016. Credit: Steve Pfost
Poisonous snakes, an iguana and a boa constrictor.
One normally needs to visit a zoo to see such creatures. But the Suffolk County SPCA often deals with such reptiles — as it did Saturday at its exotic animal amnesty day held at its Hauppauge headquarters in conjunction with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Five exotic reptiles were dropped off Saturday — two copperhead snakes and a rattlesnake, all three of them poisonous; a boa constrictor; and an iguana, officials said.
“Some of the reptiles needed water, some weren’t fed properly,” said Michael Ralbovsky, a herpetologist and curator for Rainforest Reptile Shows Inc., who helped handle the reptiles. “And if the animals gets loose, they can create havoc in the environment.”
Reptiles gathered by the SPCA go to the Rainforest Reptile facility in Beverly, Massachusetts, for educational purposes.
Through the program’s guidelines, people who own illegal exotic reptiles are allowed to drop off their pets and leave without facing legal charges.
Amnesty days began after a surge in cases of abandoned reptiles such as alligators being found near public areas in 2012.
Lois Gross, takes a photo of a green iguana as the Suffolk County SPCA, in cooperation with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation host an Amnesty Day for illegally possessed, protected, endangered and threatened animals that require special state DEC and Fish & Wildlife Permits at their Headquarters in Smithtown, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016. Credit: Steve Pfost
Since its first amnesty day in April 2013, about 60 exotic reptiles have been collected, said Roy Gross, the Suffolk SPCA’s chief of department. Saturday’s was the sixth such event.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
