Seizure of BC Man’s Rescued Reptiles Highlights Strange Year in Lizard News

A BC man whose family of reptiles were seized from him last week says the raid, conducted by the province's SPCA, is "harassment" and that he never treated the animals with cruelty.

Mike Hopcroft, also known as the founder of Reptile Guy Rescue and Education Center in Mission, BC, had 14 reptiles, 46 rats, and six dead animals taken from him by the BC SPCA on December 2, according to CBC News.

"They've always had this thing out for reptiles," he told CBC News. "I love reptiles and I've always loved reptiles."

Housing over 300 reptiles, the rescue center that Hopcroft runs reportedly serves the purpose of rehabilitating animals that have been discarded or mistreated, as well as being an attraction for birthday parties and school presentations.

He told CBC News the real problem is not him having hundreds of reptiles in his care, but the people who keep taking shitty care of them in the first place—mainly pet stores that keep breeding reptiles they can't take care of.

Hopcroft added that the SPCA's criticism that the cages he keeps his reptiles in are too small is hypocritical when compared to what dogs and cats are kept in at pet stores. He does note, however, that at one point or another, he tried to breed and sell reptiles, but says this was back when he was "young and stupid."

It's been a rough year for reptile owners. In August, a Toronto man handed over to authorities a massive illegal reptile collection of around 150 full-grown alligators, crocodiles, and caimans he'd been amassing in his home for a decade. Realizing that keeping all those creatures was an unmanageable prospect (duh), he finally called an animal sanctuary for help.

The trend of reptile enthusiasts getting the book thrown at them doesn't end there either: in September, a Windsor man was caught trying to smuggle 51 turtles into the US via a unique transportation method—by stuffing them in his pants. He pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling and failing to present an animal for inspection earlier this month.

Not all news is light-hearted, however, as there is also the notorious case of Campbellton, NB man whose python escaped its enclosure and killed two children in 2013. The children, who were brothers, died when the python fell through the ceiling above where they were sleeping and asphyxiated the boys. Recently, Jean-Claude Savoie, who owned both the pet store and the apartment where the boys died, was ordered to stand trial in January of next year. He is charged with criminal negligence causing death.

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