Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 23, 1994                   TAG: 9402230290
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-7   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

SNAKE HATERS SHARE WORRIES AT TOWN-GOWN MEETING

During a discussion about Radford's proposed prohibition on keeping wild animals as pets, Butler - an avowed snake hater who was among friends - worried aloud that pet snakes could escape or that student snake owners just might let them go when the novelty wears off or the year ends, as already happens with pet cats and dogs.

"They're going to find their way into a sewer, and I think they could live there," Butler said.

White rats that probably used to be pets have turned up two years running, raiding city dumpsters, he pointed out.

Butler's anti-snake rhetoric sounded a responsive chord among several commission members, including Radford University official and City Council candidate Bill Yerrick.

"Should they get loose and wind up in the sewer, you could end up with quite a large population of undesirable animals out there," he predicted.

Butler wondered if snakes could be "fixed" to prevent reproduction. Commission member Louis Kent had his own, surefire method.

"Cut their heads off, that's the best way to do it."

At the Police Department's request, council has been considering an ordinance to ban wild or exotic pets, including large constrictors which have become popular among students in recent years. "Don't be surprised if [the proposed ordinance] gets revised three or four more times," said Councilwoman Polly Corn, who represents council on the commission.

At its last meeting, council agreed to re-study the issue with an eye toward compromise. Some council members have said they don't want to restrict pet ownership, but would like wild pets confined during transport and in public places.

"Most of the students don't think it's fair," said Student Government Association representative Kim Sheer, who has tracked the issue at City Council. Sheer said she's not crazy about snakes, either.

She said the SGA will sponsor an informational meeting about the proposed ordinance tonight Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 6 in Heth Ballroom.

Commission Chairman Paul Harris said owning pets has become fashionable, and the trend has created new problems. "Pets are an emotional issue," he said.

Dean of Students Bonnie Hurlburt said no pets are allowed in campus housing and pets brought onto the campus must be on a leash or under the owner's direct control.