04/10/2023
FWC Officers Slaughter Pet Boa and 34 other Snakes on Holy Thursday
FWC officers showed up unannounced at a reptile facility and slaughtered 34 pythons and one pregnant Boa. The pet Boa was misidentified as a python and, according to its owner, Bill McAdam, executed via "nail gun to the head" by four FWC officers. The officers also killed 29 Reticulated pythons and five Burmese pythons owned by Chris Coffee. Under prior directive from FWC, Coffee was forced to maintain the snakes in captivity for over a year since an arbitrary deadline had passed to rehome the animals.
Coffee had a large collection of Retics and Burms, which were possessed legally with a "Conditional Species" permit before FWC passed "Prohibited Species" rules in 2021. The pythons were microchipped in accordance with FWC regulations. Coffee's animals should have been grandfathered in. Nonetheless, after the rules banning the snakes were passed, Coffee chose to rehome 120 of his pythons, but he was unable to disperse all of his collection before an FWC deadline. He called to inform FWC that he still had some pythons for which he had not been able to find new homes and asked FWC for more time.
FWC responded by raiding Coffee's facility, arresting him, and issuing him two charges for each Retic and Burm possesed, for a total of 72 criminal charges. Rather than seize the animals, FWC officers told Coffee to continue to keep the snakes in captivity and that he could not rehome or euthanize them or he would be arrested again. Coffee's life has been turned upside down and he is still on probation as a result of these charges.
Coffee's pythons were maintained at the facility of McAdam with FWC's knowledge of their whereabouts for a year, until FWC's raid and subsequent massacre on Thursday. On that date, coinciding with the observance of Passover and Holy Thursday, FWC officers Lex Corteguera, Jonathon Wright, Zach Beppel, and Christopher Ryan showed up to the facility.
When it was all done, they had killed 29 Retics and five Burms, in addition to the misidentified Boa.
Boas are legal to own in Florida and are among the most popular pet snakes. This Boa was 10 years old and raised from a baby by McAdam.
Credit: USARK FL
