So long story short, I know someone who is neglecting his animals, leaving live rats in overnight (and seeing a DEAD snake when I went there to pick up what I was getting, due to the rats). Baby snakes full of stuck shed or bite marks, scale rot. Etc etc. there were DRUGS on his table, lit cigarettes around these snakes (maybe I’m just overly cautious because they have a single lung, but still), and so much worse. I don’t know what to do, he’s selling hundreds of snakes as a flipper (buying and selling again, including some I sold to him last year before I figured this info out!). No morphmarket that I can find, but Craigslist for sure and I have links if needed. I didn’t take pics of the horrible place because it was 3 big dudes and just me in there, in a basement. I wasn’t comfortable. Is there any legal action I can do with his address and name?? Any thoughts??
I’m just worried he will come to my house if I end up reporting him- I don’t think he has anyone else going there, and he has my address in our old messages if I remember? I’m just at a loss of what to do or how
How awful! I’m so sorry about this situation. It sounds scary for you as a visitor there, and hideous for the animals. I don’t know what to tell you about him potentially coming back at you if you turn him in. That’s something to consider, of course.
There is another recent thread with thoughts about a terrible situation. Might be worth the read for some useful points.
I mean…if he’s using and/or selling drugs, that’s far more illegal than animal abuse. The regular cops are going to care about that. Reporting him for the drugs would probably be the quickest way to shut him down. That said, I don’t know what would happen to the animals in that situation. I do sometimes hear about animals, including reptiles, rescued from drug raids, but I feel like there’s also a chance they could be euthanized. I just don’t know.
You can go to the authorities or alert your local news, but if he has your information and you’re worried about your safety, I’d weigh that, too. You mentioned drugs, and as @jawramik said, that may be one thing to report him on, provided you know what type and they’re for sure illegal. That said, none of this guarantees something will be done. Unfortunately they can only do so much on a tip alone, and someone like that is unlikely to want to speak with police willingly.
I truly wish I had taken photos, but I felt highly unsafe. It’s rough when most of my proof of what he was doing was in person and not in email/text. I understand that hear say isn’t worth much, especially to authority, so that’s also a big risk if I did do anything. I really appreciate these responses though, I kinda felt like I was maybe overthinking it. Now the drugs on one hand are difficult to tell, I’ve never done anything in my life, but I know people who have. The set up looked bad to me, but I can’t obviously say 1000% that’s what It was
Never put your own safety in jeopardy in a situation like that, as much as you want to help. It’s not worth the risk. It may be worth sending in an anonymous tip if you’re comfortable with that, describing what you saw. He may be someone they already have on their radar for other reasons. You definitely weren’t overthinking, and it’s great that you care so much that you want to get those animals out of that situation.
Edited to add: You may think about contacting the ASPCA for further resources. I know they only investigate in New York City, but they might be more aware of other humane agencies throughout the state.
Definitely don’t do anything to endanger yourself. I do think making an anonymous tip to authorities would probably be the best and safest course of action.
If you wanted to DM me with more details about the drug paraphernalia you saw, I might be able to give you a better idea of what was going on there.