A Michigan man who killed a poisonous snake he says was threatening nearby
children has been found guilty of "killing a protected reptile or amphibian
without a state permit" and faces a possible jail sentence, reports the Ann
Arbor News.
Convicted of killing the rattlesnake during an afternoon outing Aug. 9 with
his two sons and their friend at Pickeral Lake northwest of Ann Arbor,
47-year-old James Galloway says he was protecting nearby children and himself,
according to the report.
Galloway said he wasn't aware that it is a crime in Michigan to kill the
Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, Michigan's only venomous snake.
The six-member jury convicted Galloway after being confronted by the
prosecution with the plastic-wrapped, frozen, decapitated snake as evidence.
According to the paper, Galloway testified he was walking up a narrow, sandy
path when he heard a hissing sound. With the rattlesnake about six to eight feet
away, Galloway saw a 3-year-old girl and her parents walking down the path
toward him. After telling the girl to stop, testified Galloway, he grabbed a
stick and used it to pin down the snake while the girl and her parents got out
of range.
He then picked up the snake and transported it to a dock where his sons were
fishing, said the News. Planning to set the snake free, Galloway says he took
the snake to a parking lot preparing to use a shovel to scoop up the snake and
release it into the woods. But the snake then came toward him, said Galloway,
and, feeling threatened, he used the shovel to cut off its head and rattle.
A woman observing the events and suspecting the snake was a protected Eastern
Massasauga reportedly contacted authorities on her cell phone. In court, an
expert testified he doubted Galloway's story, since the Eastern Massasauga is
generally a shy snake that usually will flee in the presence of humans.
With sentencing scheduled for June 26, the misdemeanor crime carries a
maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.
"I'm stunned that the snake had more rights than a human being," said
Galloway.
© 2003
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