Reptiles can’t be used for entertaining or raising money under a new city ban
Reptiles used for public entertainment or raising money are no longer welcome in Huntington Beach under a City Council decision reached Monday.
The council’s 6-0 vote, with Councilman Billy O’Connell absent, comes after the Police Department reported residents, business owners and tourists fearing for their safety and feeling pressured to give money to reptile owners.
The city’s new law outright bans entertainment snakes and reptiles, regardless of their size or variety. The city’s previous ordinance had disallowed reptiles longer than eight feet or any that are venomous.
Police Chief Robert Handy said the changes will still allow owners to show off their reptiles, which are becoming more common in the downtown, but the animals cannot be used for photographic purposes or to raise money.
“We’ve seen people with large snakes around their necks that have caused some safety concerns,” Handy said, adding that reptiles have been particularly prevalent during busy events like the U.S. Open of Surfing or Fourth of July. “We’re just trying to restrict the street performance-type use of them.”
Handy called the performances “unregulated” and unsafe.
“We don’t want to expose our residents or visitors to that,” he said.
Violators of the new law could be receive citations starting at about $250.
There have been no reported incidents of the animals biting or attacking people, Handy noted.
Susan Welfringer, manager of the Downtown Business Improvement District, said the issue was not on her organization’s radar.
“I think this is more of just a police issue at Pier Plaza,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “I rarely ever see anything like that on Main Street. They just don’t want our visitors hassled. If the visitor is hassled, if there’s clear language in the law, it just makes the job easier for the police.”
Phil Goss, president of the United States Assn. of Reptile Keepers, said his organization is aware of Huntington Beach’s efforts. He said snakes are not as harmful as people perceive them to be.
“The public safety risk is exaggerated and often sensationalized,” Goss said. “You really have to do something wrong in order to be bitten by one of these snakes.”
Laura Brewer, manager of Prehistoric Pets, an all-reptile store in Fountain Valley, said she believes reptiles should not be discriminated against.
“I feel like if they’re concerned with people making profit on the pier, it should have been more general to apply to anyone who’s not licensed to make money there,” she said.
Goss said his organization encourages permits for people who want to show their animals educationally, instead of just using them for money-making purposes.
“We never like to see bans because there are people who do this legitimately,” he said. “Just because someone took a snake on a sidewalk and was trying to make money off a photo, you can’t throw the others who are being responsible under the bus.”
--
Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey
