Angry Over Raid on San Marcos Breeder : Collectors May Challenge City’s Ordinance on Snakes

A local group of reptile collectors, angry over a raid Wednesday of a San Carlos man’s snake collection, planned to meet this morning to consider challenging a city ordinance restricting the keeping of snakes.

The San Diego Herpetological Society, a 250-member organization, was expected to meet at 10 a.m. to discuss the plight of Gary Sipperley, who lost 26 nonpoisonous, exotic snakes and two poisonous Mexican lizards to animal control officers who searched his home Wednesday.

“Everybody’s running scared. Everybody’s terrified that their snakes are going to be taken away from them,” said Cheryle DeWitt, a spokeswoman for the society. “We plan to get some petitions together to protest the ordinance, try to get some facts together, and try to help Gary, if we can.”

In confiscating the reptiles, the majority of them pythons, authorities cited a City of San Diego ordinance prohibiting the keeping of dangerous or poisonous snakes, including adult boas and pythons more than 3 1/2 feet long or weighing more than 15 pounds.

Potential Danger to Humans

“The snakes were seized for a variety of reasons,” Sally Hazzard, director of San Diego County’s animal control department, said Wednesday. “The rule of thumb is (to seize) those that pose potential danger to humans.”

But herpetological society members say the regulation is unfair and unrealistic.

“We think the measurement of 3 1/2 feet is really ridiculous. That does not constitute a dangerous snake,” DeWitt said. “We don’t mind some rules being put down about snakes being kept in locked cages and properly cared for. But we’d like to clarify the ordinance, and see some meeting of the minds about what is considered a dangerous snake.”

Officials at the San Diego Zoo, where the snakes were initially taken, earlier said all the snakes measured over 3 1/2 feet and weighed more than 15 pounds. Some of the snakes were more than 10 feet long and weighed at least 35 pounds, they reported.

Alerted by Complaint

Authorities said they were alerted about Sipperley’s collection by a complaint from a resident who feared the snakes would escape. But according to a spokeswoman at the zoo, many of the San Carlos resident’s neighbors have said they trusted the expert snake breeder and weren’t concerned about the snakes. Additionally, DeWitt and other herpetologists said Sipperley is well-respected and well-known for his professional handling of reptiles.

County officials said they will hold a hearing for Sipperley, but have not yet set a date. The snake breeder has not been charged with any violations.

“There was no escaped snake or anything like that,” DeWitt said. “Basically it was just a neighbor (of Sipperley’s) who wanted animal control to investigate. Well, animal control did a lot more than investigate.”

County animal control officers on Thursday said they removed 16 of the snakes from the zoo and are keeping them at a residence in El Cajon. That city allows the keeping of snakes over 3 1/2 feet long, and Sipperley agreed to the location, Hazzard said.

Nine California king snakes remained at the zoo under the custody of the state Fish and Game Department, which regulates the keeping of that particular reptile. The zoo also is keeping one python, which is ill, and the two Mexican lizards.

Most of the reptiles were removed because their cages were crowding the zoo’s snake facilities, a zoo spokeswoman said.