Zoo Owner Is Accused of Feeding Puppies to Snakes

A roadside zoo owner accused of feeding live puppies to his snakes, alligators and large cats was charged Friday with cruelty to animals.

Deputies descended on the Steel City Zoo about 60 miles west of Tallahassee, Fla., to arrest owner Romulus Scalf.

“I want the world to know . . . I’m being harassed,” Scalf yelled to reporters as he was led to a patrol car. “I have not abused animals.”

Scalf recently told the News Herald of Panama City, Fla., that he has fed his large snakes--some of which are as long as 15 feet--unwanted puppies that people have dropped off at his zoo.

“I mean, which is best? Just take them out here and set them beside the highway and let cars run over them and they lay there out on the road in the sun for hours dying? Give them to the Humane Society and let them bust them in the head and throw them in a incinerator? Or give them to the snake and let the snake get a meal off of it?” Scalf said.

Neil Trent, regional director for the World Society for the Protection of Animals, said there is no justification for feeding live food to animals in captivity. “He just takes the easy way out. He obviously is indifferent to the pain and suffering.”

Scalf, 54, was jailed on $10,000 bond. If convicted on the cruelty-to-animals charge, he faces up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Meantime, the federal Department of Agriculture has filed an administrative complaint against Scalf’s zoo and could close it down. It is home to hundreds of animals, including lizards, monkeys, bears, iguanas, alligators, hybrid wolves, sheep, goats, rabbits and birds.