In a park just east of Sacramento, Jake Molieri guided us through his service Snakeout where he trains dogs and dog owners how to avoid rattlesnakes on hiking trails and parks. “They are obviously an animal that are dangerous if you get into an altercation and provoking them,” Molieri said. “They are never going to chase you or go after you.”Molieri currently uses his albino rattlesnake called Mr. Cheese for training. However, that snake is not the most ideal one to use for his business. “The only reason we are able to continue operating and continue doing the service is because we use these albino, which is not ideal because they are really hard to acquire,” he said. The State Department of Fish and Wildlife told Molieri he is not allowed to operate if he uses regular rattlesnakes that are found in Northern California. The state claims he violated regulations that protect those animals from being used for profit. “They told me the classes you’re doing are like illegal, you’re illegally commercializing these animals,” Molieri said. However, Molieri claims there is a gray area that needs to be changed. “The regulations they are citing were written back in the day with the idea of like, hey you can’t go out into the woods and catch a bunch of snakes and sell them into the pet trade and the skin industry,” he said. “They’re taking that idea and applying it to this dog class and saying that we’re basically selling the snakes. The snakes are not changing hands. The snakes are my snakes.”He filed a lawsuit to try to get the regulations changed. CDFW said in a statement: “Current regulations prohibit the take or possession of any native species unless specifically permitted by regulation for commercial purposes, as it presents a financial gain to motivate take. That commercial motivation can have negative impacts on native populations.”The lawsuit is still going through the court system. He hopes they can reach an agreement to change regulations that benefit his business and keep snakes safe. “We want to see more snakes being alive, less dogs getting bit and everyone having an understanding that nobody wants to get into an altercation with each other, but the state’s making it really hard,” he said. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
In a park just east of Sacramento, Jake Molieri guided us through his service Snakeout where he trains dogs and dog owners how to avoid rattlesnakes on hiking trails and parks.
“They are obviously an animal that are dangerous if you get into an altercation and provoking them,” Molieri said. “They are never going to chase you or go after you.”
Molieri currently uses his albino rattlesnake called Mr. Cheese for training. However, that snake is not the most ideal one to use for his business.
“The only reason we are able to continue operating and continue doing the service is because we use these albino, which is not ideal because they are really hard to acquire,” he said.
The State Department of Fish and Wildlife told Molieri he is not allowed to operate if he uses regular rattlesnakes that are found in Northern California. The state claims he violated regulations that protect those animals from being used for profit.
“They told me the classes you’re doing are like illegal, you’re illegally commercializing these animals,” Molieri said.
However, Molieri claims there is a gray area that needs to be changed.
“The regulations they are citing were written back in the day with the idea of like, hey you can’t go out into the woods and catch a bunch of snakes and sell them into the pet trade and the skin industry,” he said. “They’re taking that idea and applying it to this dog class and saying that we’re basically selling the snakes. The snakes are not changing hands. The snakes are my snakes.”
He filed a lawsuit to try to get the regulations changed.
CDFW said in a statement: “Current regulations prohibit the take or possession of any native species unless specifically permitted by regulation for commercial purposes, as it presents a financial gain to motivate take. That commercial motivation can have negative impacts on native populations.”
The lawsuit is still going through the court system. He hopes they can reach an agreement to change regulations that benefit his business and keep snakes safe.
“We want to see more snakes being alive, less dogs getting bit and everyone having an understanding that nobody wants to get into an altercation with each other, but the state’s making it really hard,” he said.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel