A Florida vet tech sentenced for abusing snakes. ‘They suffered’
A Sarasota vet tech has been convicted on multiple counts of animal cruelty after authorities found emaciated reptile in his garage, the State Attorney’s Office said.
Christopher George Pettit, who works at a veterinary office as a vet tech, was found to have three venomous snakes, two non-venomous snakes and a lace monitor in his garage, according to the State Attorney’s Office 12th Judicial Circuit.
The animals were kept in plastic bins with no food or water and without ventilation, prosecutors say. All animals were “severely emaciated and dehydrated,” the office said.
One of the snakes later died after being rescued, and multiple dead snakes were also found in the garage, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
“No animal, no matter what species, deserves to be treated the way those reptiles were treated,” Assistant State Attorney Kyle Meyer said. “They suffered months of malnutrition and dehydration and were left to die a slow and painful death.”
According to Meyer, Pettit “put the community at risk by keeping the venomous animals without proper safeguards.”
Pettit was charged with six counts of cruelty to animals, six counts of confinement of abandonment of animals, three counts of keeping venomous reptiles without a permit and one count of unsafe maintenance of captive wild animals, according to the release.
Due to the crimes committed over “the span of many months,” County Judge Megan Leaf sentenced Pettit to six months in Sarasota County Jail followed by 18 months of probation, the release said.
As one condition of his probation, Pettit is not to have custody of any animals and must register on the Animal Cruelty Registry, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
This case was investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Pettit’s trial was held at the Sarasota County Courthouse on April 6 and 7.
