Call to regulate exotic pets

SNAKES alive...an exotic animals expert has called for new legislation to control their import after several venomous snakes were abandoned.

Leading herpetoligist James Hennessy, who runs the country’s only reptile zoo, said he has taken charge of 22 lethal snakes, including massive cobras and rattle snakes, who have been either handed in to his zoo or simply abandoned by their owners in the last six months alone.

It is a massive increase on previous years, Mr Hennessy said.

In two cases, landlords called for help after poisonous snakes were abandoned in Dublin apartments.

Mr Hennessy said he expects more such cases as people struggle to cope with the high costs of keeping such animals.

He said the state must follow Britain’s example and introduce legislation to control the ownership of these animals.

“You need a licence to own a labrador and we have legislation governing the control of dangerous dogs,” he said.

“But you don’t have to have a licence to own a crocodile, a tiger or a venomous snake.”

During the Celtic Tiger years, people sought out exotic animals, but Mr Hennessy said they do not make good pets.

“Most snakes are fine. They make great captives. But why would you want to have a venomous snake as a pet in your home?” he asked.

“You don’t get emotion back from a snake.

“People are seeking them out on the internet, travelling abroad to exotic animals fairs, and effectively buying them at ‘car boot sales’ and bringing them back. You can pick up a rattle snake for as little as €50.

“But there is no legislation here to control the ownership of such animals, or how they are kept,” he said.

He warned there is no anti-venom in Ireland, and in the event of a bite from a venomous snake, a victim has about an hour to get medical help. The nearest anti-venom storage location is at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. “It’s either ship it in from Liverpool or a helicopter airlift,” he said.

Mr Hennessy was in Cork yesterday to deliver a lecture to students attending St John’s Central College’s Animal Management Course.

He brought a 12-foot python, a four-foot crocodile, snapping turtles and tarantulas into the classroom to give students a hands-on lesson on safe handling.

Mr Hennessy has had an interest in reptiles and amphibians from an early age. He founded the Reptile Village in Kilkenny in 2006, which is licensed by the Department of the Environment under the European Communities (Licensing and Inspection of Zoos) regulations. He has bred several rare and endangered species of reptile and amphibian in captivity, including conehead iguanas, white-lipped pit vipers, day geckos, Nile monitors, boa constrictors, frilled dragons, Cuban knight anoles and chameleons.