Warren city ordinance names unsuitable pets

By Ed Runyan

State law says wild animals belong to the state.

WARREN — Law Director Greg Hicks says every pet snake in Warren will not have to be removed because of a new city ordinance, but every raccoon will.

City council approved legislation that adds poisonous or dangerous snakes and raccoons to the list of animals that Warren residents are not allowed to keep in the city.

That list formerly included lions, tigers, cougars and wolves.

Hicks says an evaluation will have to be done the first time the law is enforced to determine what constitutes a dangerous or poisonous snake.

“If it’s a garter snake in an aquarium in the sun room, it’s not a problem,” Hicks said.

But defining a dangerous or poisonous snake will require some expert help to determine which snakes are poisonous and which are dangerous enough, because of their size, to hurt someone.

The interpretation of “dangerous” could also lead to some sort of test case, such as a lawsuit, Hicks said.

Hicks said the new law was necessary, because some city residents were taking snakes and raccoons into public areas, prompting calls to the city to do something to stop the practice, Hicks said.

Without the ordinance, the city couldn’t do anything.

Animal control agents and police officers won’t go looking for snakes and raccoons, but officers will check into complaints about them and cite anyone found to have them, Hicks said.

Though the offense is a minor misdemeanor that could produce a fine of about $100, the main goal of the law is to discourage people from keeping such animals and to get them removed when they are found, Hicks said.

Raccoons are wild animals, Hicks noted, and sometimes carry diseases that are harmful to people, such as rabies. Ohio law says raccoons are the property of the state, Hicks said. “They don’t belong to you,” he said of anyone wanting to keep them as a pet.

Hicks noted that anyone having a snake or raccoon who is now planning to get rid of it should contact appropriate authorities, such as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, to find the best place to release the animal.

runyan@vindy.com