6 October 2012
A teenager has been charged over the alleged theft of snakes from a zoo in the Hunter Valley.
The 19-year-old was taken to Cessnock Police Station and charges were laid against him, including four counts of buying, selling, possessing or controlling protected fauna, receiving a killed or stolen animal or animal part, breach of bail, having goods suspected of being stolen, possessing an unauthorised firearm and not keeping a firearm safe.
He was refused bail and is set to appear at Maitland Local Court on Saturday.
On Friday, police carried out a search warrant at a house in Elizabeth Street, Abermain, and found three pythons in a shed and a fourth in a bedroom.
All were seized by police and three have been identified as belonging to Hunter Valley Zoo in Nulkaba.
A total of six snakes and two alligators were stolen from the zoo sometime between September 23 and 24.
The rare baby American alligators have since been recovered and a 27-year-old man charged in connection with the theft. He will appear in court later this month.
The snakes stolen were a water python, a Woma python, a Murray Darling python, a black headed python and two diamond pythons, all of which are non-venomous.
The animals were used by the Lomas Lane zoo to cheer up sick and disabled children.
