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Tokyo cops charge man with unlawful captivity of Burmese python

Police seized a 3.5-meter-long Burmese python from a residence in Edogawa Ward
Police seized a 3.5-meter-long Burmese python from a residence in Edogawa Ward

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have charged a 21-year-old man with the unlawful raising of a number of reptiles, including a Burmese python, at his residence in Edogawa Ward, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Sept. 9).

On July 20, police seized a 3.5-meter-long Burmese python, a reticulated python (1.3 meters), a boa constrictor (75 centimeters) and three other reptiles from inside the residence.

Under a law that protects the welfare of animals, the reptiles are designated such that a license is required to raise them due to potential dangers to the public. For example, a reticulated python, which can grow to a length of 10 meters, is capable of eating a person.

The suspect did not possess such a license to raise the animals. “A snake’s face is cute,” the suspect is quoted by police, according to Fuji News Network (Sept. 8).

The man kept a total of 40 snakes and lizards in unlocked clothing storage cases and water tanks in the residence.

In May, the man purchased the six designated animals at a trade show in Tokyo.