This rattlesnake is a protected species. Someone killed it for a meal, NY cops say
A 65-year-old illegally shot and killed a protected rattlesnake in New York, then planned to make it a meal, police said.
An anonymous tip was sent to police on July 4 saying someone had killed a timber rattlesnake in Hancock, Department of Environmental Conservation police said in a July 18 news release.
Timber rattlesnakes were listed as threatened species in the state in 1983, making it illegal to kill or collect the reptile, according to wildlife officials.
The threatened species reproduces slowly and faces threats from development, roads, illegal collecting and habitat disturbances.
Police said they interviewed the 65-year-old accused in the killing on July 7 and found the remains of the 3-foot snake.
The snake had been shot with a BB gun and skinned, police said. The person then planned to eat it.
They were ticketed and face a fine of up to $250 with a $75 surcharge, police said.
A court hearing is set for Aug. 28.
Hancock is about a 115-mile drive southeast from Syracuse.
