Animal Control Officer Rich DuBarton was fired Friday for releasing pictures and the video you see above to the media. “I guess he didn’t like someone stealing his thunder,” Said DuBarton about the incident. He was yelled at over the phone for releasing the picture and then on Friday received a termination letter listing no reason for the termination. He also claims that Carol Wagner director of the Health dept told officers last year not to warn resident about 5 cases of rabies. DuBarton also said “I’m an animal control officer,” DuBarton said. “I’m supposed to educate the public. No one ever told me I wasn’t allowed to.” He is also a certified police K9 instructor and Animal Control Officer for Bergen County.
Category Archives: Snakes
Pet snake nearly burns house down.
At 0620GMT a fire alarm alerted a family to a small fire in there home. Their pet snake had knocked a heat light down lighting the enclosure as well as the table it was sitting on fire. Fire fighters got the fire out using buckets of water. In the chaos the snake got out and was uninjured.
Donate cameras to save wildlife.
Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International – says the donated gear is vitally important because such equipment isn’t readily available in many areas. “Biologists and others working in impoverished regions often don’t have the resources they need to work effectively – and this program could put cameras and other crucial tools in their hands,” The donation of equipment is very important for a lot of organizations and this is your chance to make a difference on something that directly effects our hobby so if you have any old Cameras or other equipment Get in touch with Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International today.
The arrest of Chuck Hurd
Well unfortunately we have to get back on this topic but there is a great injustice going on in the reptile world right now and the media is just feeding on it. We are setting the record strait right now and saying that Chuck Hurd had NOTHING to do with the death of Wade Wesbrook and in fact authorities have made NO connection between the two. For some reason all the media outlets are saying he was arrested in connection with Wade’s death, simply not true. On the other hand Chuck was arrested on the illegal transport of snakes but Daily Reptile News spoke with Chuck on the phone and he explained the situation as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was coming home from an expo where the snakes are legal to his home where the snakes are legal and stopped off to visit a friend in a state where unfortunately the snakes were not legal. From our experience we expect once authorities investigate the circumstances all charges will be dropped.
The bad part of the story is according to quotes state authorities say this is just what could be the tip of the iceberg on a larger investigation into the illegal keeping of exotic snakes in Tennessee. Look out folks I see more regulations coming.
Unfortunately at press time no media outlets that are spreading the rumors would return my calls.
Video of Cobra that Bit its owner.
Animal Control Officer Rich DuBarton made the video
Born Free USA CEO speaks out on Cobra bite
Born Free CEO Will Travers spoke out agents the man who was bitten by his pet Cobra yesterday. He said snakes “pose severe safety risks to humans, including the transmission of deadly diseases, strangulations, and bites,” and went on to say “By their very nature, exotic animals are dangerous creatures. This New Jersey man kept three snakes as ‘pets,’ not only putting his own life at risk, but that of his family and community. Given the life these animals are forced to endure as pets, it is no surprise that they exhibit their natural instincts to the detriment of their owner and the public at large. These animals are time bombs waiting to explode.” And while here at DRN we like to see both sides of the story I find it hard not to say SUCK IT. I think Born Free just went on our dumb ass list next to the HSUS and PETA.
2 headed Albino Gater Snake
An animal exhibition in Switzerland has an interesting animal on display. Tom Beser the owner of the snake said there were only 8 of these 2 headed snakes in the world but this was the only one that had both 2 heads and was an Albino Garter Snake. One person was offered £13,000 for his non Albino Garter Snake so Tom says this one should be worth a lot more. Unfortunately as you already know the picture is not the actual snake, the DB’s that have the real picture wont let me use it so if you must see it “Its super sweet” go to the DB’s website.