Las Vegas police say they discovered about 30 boa constricters in a home in the Southern Highlands community on Tuesday as part of a law enforcement investigation.
Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Larry Hadfield said investigators came across the snakes around 6:30 a.m. in a house near Shinnecock Hills Avenue and Southern Highlands Parkway while conducting a follow-up investigation by a police gang and deputy office .
Police called Clark County Animal Control to the scene, but investigators found the snakes were legally owned and properly cared for, so they left them with their owner.
“Animal Control responded and determined that owning the animals was not criminal,” Hadfield said in an email.
Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin confirmed that there is nothing in local law preventing someone from having dozens of boa constricters in one residence.
“However, for practical reasons, there would be a limit to the number of animals that one could adequately care for,” Kulin said in an email. “For every legally kept animal, the owner must provide clean water and food, a clean area or cage, the animal (s) must be kept in a suitable area, and if the animal is kept in a cage, the animal must be locked up in a safe manner. Failure to provide safe and clean living space can lead to charges of cruelty to animals. “
In this case, Kulin said the boas were “in appropriate cages” so the animal control had not taken any action.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
