Recently, the frequent appearance of snakes in a community in Chang'an Town, Dongguan, has caused panic among residents. It turns out that a tenant on the 25th floor has been breeding over 100 pet snakes (corn snakes) at home. After the community residents reported the situation to relevant departments, local forestry and public security authorities intervened.
Mr. Gong, a resident of the same building, said that recently, a snake about half a meter long was found in his home on the 21st floor. The community's property staff informed him that it was a pet snake. Earlier, a pink snake (suspected to be a pet snake) had also been found on the ground floor of the building. It was later discovered that a tenant on the 25th floor was breeding a large number of snakes.
"Last year, one snake was found in the underground garage. At that time, we thought it was a wild snake, so nobody gave it a second thought. Later, another snake was found in the grass. After having it caught and taken away, we still didn't think much of it," said Mr. Qin, another community resident. "It wasn't until a snake appeared on the 21st floor in May that everyone really got scared."
On May 18, some residents went to the 25th floor where the suspected snake breeder lived to discuss the snake breeding issue, accompanied by the police and community staff. According to a video of the on-site communication provided by the residents, the suspected snake keeper claimed to have more than 100 snakes in his house.
On May 21, the Dongguan Forestry Bureau stated to reporters that after an on-site investigation, the snakes kept by the man are not terrestrial wild animals protected by China's wildlife laws and regulations. The bureau advised the snake keeper to transfer the pet snakes and not disturb the normal lives of neighboring residents. As of that day, the snake keeper had cleared most of the snakes and worked with the property staff to carry out sanitation and disinfection.
The community staff responded that the property management company had been instructed to disinfect the entire building and arrange for staff to conduct inspections of the community's greenery and grassland for a period of time. Currently, there is no conclusive evidence to prove that the snakes raised by the man are for business purposes. However, they would work with the property management office to monitor the situation of this household and prohibit him from continuing to acquire a large number of snakes.
Can snakes be kept in residential buildings? What conditions need to be met?
The Dongguan Forestry Bureau stated that if breeding snake species protected by China's wildlife laws and regulations, two requirements must be met:
First, site selection requirements. According to the Overall Design Specification for Wild Animal Farms (LY/T2499-2015), the site of the breeding farm must be located far from urban residential areas, concentrated population areas such as cultural, educational, and scientific research zones, and main traffic routes such as highways and railways, with a minimum distance of no less than 500m.
Second, licensing requirements. In accordance with Article 25 of the Wild Animal Conservation Law: "Whoever intends to artificially breed wild animals under state priority conservation shall obtain an artificial breeding license upon approval of the competent department of wild animal conservation of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government. The artificial breeding of terrestrial wild animals of significant ecological, scientific, or social value shall be filed with the competent departments of wild animal conservation of the people's governments at or above the county level." Therefore, snake breeders must obtain the relevant licenses.
If breeding non-protected pet snakes under China's wildlife laws and regulations, snake breeders must comply with the relevant provisions of the Civil Code, Public Security Administration Punishments Law, Animal Epidemic Prevention Law, and other laws, including abiding by social ethics, implementing animal epidemic prevention measures, and not disturbing others' lives.
Editor | Li Lan (intern), Liu Lingzhi, James, Shen He
