South Dakota Man Not Happy To Learn He Cannot Let Snake Roam Freely In Park

While most people would assume this is obvious, a South Dakota snake owner was downright upset to learn that he could not let his snake roam freely in a park. Jerry Kimball was fined $190 for not having his 4-month-old fire bee ball python on a leash.

“It was April Fool’s Day, so I thought he was playing a joke,” Kimball said. “They’re not fast creatures. They’re not going to run away.”

The thing about snakes, though, is that they can still move. Which is why the officer suggested Kimball put a leash on his pet.

“He was literally asking me to put a rope around my snake,” Kimball said. “I was like ‘dude, no.’ I was dumbfounded.”

Kimball said in a Facebook post that he was holding an “educational meet and greet” featuring his snakes, through his group Sioux Falls Snake Adventures. Though Argus Leader only mentions one fire bee ball python, a photo of the citation states that there were two ball pythons on the grass with “nobody holding them.”

Kimball was ticketed for “animals running at large.”

Last year, 253 citations were issued in the city of Sioux Falls for violating the rule. Kimball, however, doesn’t think it should apply to his snakes.

Kimball said he plans to fight the ticket.

“That’s my purpose in life: To let people know that snakes aren’t killers,” Kimball said. “What better way to give back than to help people understand these misunderstood creatures?”

Because nothing will help people feel more comfortable with a python than having it roam freely in a park.

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[H/T Huffington Post]