Man Had 70+ Exotic Snakes, Fed Them Pets Adopted Off Craigslist
There's no question that Craigslist is cluttered with strange things and strange people, but this story may just take the cake.
Texas animal authorities are currently in the process of re-housing and identifying nearly 80 snakes -- mostly Boas and Albino Burmese Pythons -- all located at one East Texas house.
Their owner, David Beauchemin, apparently fed the snakes pets he "adopted" off of Craigslist.
Animal Cruelty ChargesTexas State Game Wardens, Wood County Police, and local zoo keepers were alerted to David Beauchemin when he failed to show up to a hearing in Louisiana, where KLTV reports that he is being charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty.
It is alleged that he advertised on Craigslist as a pet adopter, and then feds the pets to his dozens of snakes.
When authorities happened upon David Beauchemin, KLTV reports that they found him in a motor home with a large quantity of cash.
He also had a cargo trailer full of snakes.
Rodents Are OK Snake Food, Not Cats
If you're wondering why it's okay for snake owners to feed their pets rodents but not other animals, it has to do with nutritional needs.
Snakes generally have to eat whole prey, which is why many states permit the sale of live "feeder mice" or frozen, dead mice killed via humane means. Rodents are also their natural food -- not kittens.
This may seem like a strange exception to animal cruelty laws given the fact that the mice are intentionally killed, but in jurisdictions where snakes are permissible pets, legislators have decided that some mice have no rights.
Related Resources:
- Dozens of Snakes Found on Man's Property (ABC's WLOX)
- Animal Rights (FindLaw)
- Woman Mails Puppy, Charged with Animal Cruelty (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
