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Reptiles, birds, rodents seized at Nanaimo home

B.C. SPCA and provincial conservation officials are recommending cruelty charges after more than 30 reptiles, birds and rodents were seized from a Nanaimo home. Tina Heary, senior animal protection officer in B.C.
B.C. SPCA photo
B.C. SPCA and provincial conservation officials are recommending cruelty charges after more than 30 reptiles, birds and rodents were seized from a Nanaimo home.

B.C. SPCA and provincial conservation officials are recommending cruelty charges after more than 30 reptiles, birds and rodents were seized from a Nanaimo home.

Tina Heary, senior animal protection officer in B.C. SPCA’s cruelty investigations department, said many of the animals were in distress, some critically, and those had to be destroyed.

A conservation officer was called in because one of the seized snakes, a reticulated python, is on the provincial controlled species list.

The animals were seized on Jan. 18 after the SPCA received a tip, Heary said. The investigation is continuing, but cruelty charges will be recommended against one person.

Heary said the case demonstrates the specialized care that exotic creatures, including reptiles, require. Special attention must be paid to diet, housing, sanitation, temperature, humidity and sunlight.

“It’s not an easy pet for anyone, despite the fact that they so often sold,” she said. “People need to have a lot of experience and a lot of specialized knowledge to adequately care for reptiles.”