GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A West Michigan man pleaded guilty Thursday in a federal courtroom for buying and trafficking two types of endangered snakes.
Scott Allen Hitchcock of Van Buren County said he bought the Louisiana pine and black pine snakes in Indiana back in June of 2020. He then brought the snakes back to Michigan.
The two snakes are listed as threatened wherever they are found under the Endangered Species Act. Transporting them is a violation of the Lacey Act.
Court doc: Man charged for transporting threatened snakes to Michigan
“The Louisiana pine snake, which is one of the species in this case, that is one that has very few eggs,” said Laura Boelema, John Ball Zoo animal care supervisor for reptiles. “Only reproducing a handful of times a year or yearly. If you’re taking that mother out of the wild, you’re significantly hindering the next generation.”…