NEWBURGH – To quote Indiana Jones in the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” when he climbed into his friend’s small plane and found the man’s large pet snake in the seat, “Jock, I HATE snakes!”
Well, apparently that was not the case with a Newburgh man. State Environmental Conservation Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation Unit officers executed a search warrant at 82 Maple Street and found 157 snakes in the basement of the home.
Officers were alerted to the reptiles by Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx when a man showed up after having been bitten by a venomous Asian pit viper he owned. He received five doses of anti-venom and was released on Monday.
The man did not have a license to possess any of the snakes. Venomous snakes are illegal to possess in New York State without a license and are only licensed for educational or exhibition purposes.
Bronx Zoo staff went to the house to assist environmental conservation officers inventory and remove the snakes from the house. They will be kept at the zoo for the time being.
