Cold-Blooded Snake, Reptile Lovers Worry About County License Proposal For Dangerous Animals

Traci Williams is known for rescuing homeless snakes and reptiles, but she’s afraid a county proposal will tip the scales against her.

Williams lives just outside the city limits, in the unincorporated area that would be regulated by a proposed ordinance requiring owners of dangerous animals to buy annual licenses and insurance. Those include bears, wild cats, non-domestic dogs and several reptile species.

“Because of the way the ordinance is worded, people are going to panic,” said Williams, president of the Inland Empire Herpetological Society, which has about 55 members. “I’m going to see a lot more reptiles. And I don’t want to see that.”

Williams, who runs Reptile Rescue, is afraid people will abandon their pets rather than buy the required licenses and liability insurance. That could mean more animals for her, and she’s already got a pet store-full.

The proposal was sparked by Charlie the cougar, who bit a boy in April. The Valley cougar was later euthanized.

Although there are no reports of pet reptile attacks in Spokane County, the draft ordinance was written to cover any possible dangerous exotic animal, Animal Control Director Nancy Sattin said.

That includes anacondas, rock and reticulated pythons, alligators, crocodiles and caimans.

“You hate to wait until there’s a problem, to make sure there’s regulations,” Sattin said.

Reptile owners hate to think about the possible cost of the regulations. Under the proposal, owners would pay licensing fees of $50 per reptile, up to a maximum total of $150. They’ll also need a $50,000 bond or proof of liability insurance of $50,000 per dangerous reptile.

Regulated mammals could be walked on leashes, the proposal says. Regulated reptiles could only leave home for a trip to the vet.

Hollie Taylor lives in Spokane, so she wouldn’t be affected by the county ordinance. But she worries the city will adopt a similar plan. Taylor raises fancy rats and owns an iguana, a bearded dragon, five Burmese pythons, a red-tailed boa and a reticulated python named Rope.

Reticulated pythons “are kind of like the pit bulls of the reptile world,” Taylor said. “It’s all in how you raise them.”

Herpetological Club members like Taylor push for responsible reptile owners, who know that iguanas are finicky eaters and that snakes have to be kept in warm rooms.

Many things slither in Williams’ home, kept in heated tanks and cages. No one’s sure what the ordinance would mean to Williams, not even Sattin.

For almost two years, the house has been a haven for problem reptiles, those found plopped on piles of cocaine, stuffed in mailboxes or abandoned in apartments.

Williams has cared for camians and pythons that would be regulated under the ordinance. She sleeps with a 6-foot-long iguana named Fred.

At Reptile Rescue, Williams adopts the reptiles out to good homes. She’s moved 150 reptiles through her home since September.

“As long as pet stores sell them, people buy them, and Traci’s gonna get them coming out her ears for the rest of her life,” said Mary Pritzl, a member of the herpetological club who owns chameleons but none of the reptiles listed in the ordinance.

Sattin knows she can’t make everyone happy, but she’s willing to listen. She just wants to make everyone safe. A public hearing on the ordinance will probably be held in late September.

“I’m just hoping I get an ordinance together that’s workable, enforceable and fair,” Sattin said. “A lot people are amazed we’ve got these ordinances on dogs and leashes.

“But we don’t tell you anything about your Bengal tiger, your bear or whatever. People were amazed there was that big of a crack that these animals fell into.”

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