Deadly snakes stolen
The odds of being killed by a venomous snake in Niagara are pretty low. The region isn’t a natural habitat for dangerous reptiles.
However, the odds might be slightly higher in Thorold, which has no bylaws prohibiting residents from owning dangerous animals, including some of the most poisonous reptiles on Earth.
Twice in the past seven years Thorold city council has tried and failed to amend its animal control bylaws to prohibit dangerous exotic animals. Council has never found the political will to enact a ban, not even after an escaped alligator was killed by a car on Highway 20 in 2013.
But times might be changing, said Thorold Mayor Ted Luciani.
After Niagara Regional Police launched an investigation Saturday into the theft of several dangerous snakes — including cobras, adders, vipers and rattlesnakes — Luciani believes city councillors have finally had enough of these snakes in their city.
“I think council will finally have the stomach for it,” Luciani said.
Police were called to a house on Hansler Road and Highway 20 Saturday night following a break-in. The bandits specifically targeted the house, police said, and stole the venomous snakes along with a pregnant albino boa constrictor.
Police said the animals were being kept and bred for sale online.
Police are particularly concerned with the theft of the cobras because of the extreme risk posed by the snake’s venom.
“Cobras belong to a sub-group of snakes known as elapids,” said an NRP news release. “An elapid’s (cobra) venom contains postsynaptic neurotoxins that spread rapidly in its victim’s bloodstream, causing respiratory failure and, eventually, death.”
This isn’t the first time Thorold has had to deal with dangerous exotic animals, including snakes, in the community.
City clerk Donna Delvecchio said the council of 2009 attempted to amend the city’s animal control bylaw to prohibit dangerous, exotic animals.
She said a change to any bylaw requires a public meeting and in 2009 about 40 people showed up to speak against a bylaw amendment.
“So the council, which was not this council but the 2009 council, decided not to amend the bylaw,” she said.
The issue would not slither back onto council’s agenda until 2013, when an alligator was run over on the highway.
Delvecchio said the incident was knocked around council at the time, but ultimately no effort to change the bylaw was made.
Thorold’s bylaws only restrict dangerous animals to be kept in “urban areas” of the city, said Luciani.
After Saturday’s theft and given the risk posed by the snakes, Delvecchio said she is working with Kevin Strooband, executive director of Lincoln County Humane Society, to change the bylaw.
Strooband said several Niagara communities have bylaws that prohibit the possession of dangerous exotic animals, including Lincoln, Wainfleet and St. Catharines.
Luciani and Delvecchio expected the issue will be raised at Tuesday evening’s city council meeting, which could formally begin the process to have the bylaw changed.