59 rattlesnakes seized from dealer selling them as pets, CA wildlife officials say

Wildlife officials seized 59 rattlesnakes from a man who planned to illegally sell the venomous snakes at a reptile exposition, wildlife authorities in California said.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife found out about the dealer’s plans through social media, and a wildlife officer located him at the exposition, according to a Facebook post. During the investigation, the agency found that the seller had been participating in wildlife trafficking, and that he had been “breeding and selling a large number of native rattlesnakes” for about a decade, the post said.

Officials also determined that the man, who was not identified, was housing several types of rattlesnakes that aren’t native to California and that are restricted in the state, the agency said.

The officer who attended the exposition seized the rattlesnakes the man was attempting to sell, the post said. Wildlife officials also inspected the facility where the man was housing rattlesnakes and discovered 59 of them — 40 Western diamondback snakes, 12 speckled rattlesnakes and seven non-native prairie rattlesnakes, the agency said.

The man did not have the necessary permits to have the snakes,the agency said.

But in the comments of the Facebook post, state wildlife officials added that “selling rattlesnakes as pets to the general public is not legal, is not authorized in any manner, and no permit would be granted for such activity.”

Depending on what a court decides, the snakes seized by the agency could potentially be used for scientific study or to extract venom to produce antivenom, the post said.

The agency did not specify where in California the snakes were seized and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 1:26 PM with the headline "59 rattlesnakes seized from dealer selling them as pets, CA wildlife officials say."