Snake suit
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Sunday, June 15, 2008
By JESSE FRUHWIRTH
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
Clearfield man blames DWR for the deaths of 62 of his rubber boas
CLEARFIELD -- While the Division of Wildlife Resources investigated whether a Clearfield man's snakes were a rare and protected species, all but three of his 65 rubber boas died in custody.
Ryan William Hoyer, 34, who lost an appeal of his conviction for bringing the boas into Utah, is suing the division for the value of years of lost research and for the negligent deaths of his loved ones -- all those rubber boas.
Hoyer was helping his father research the reproductive habits of the snakes. Each snake had its own plastic habitat in his temperature-controlled basement, an arrangement prosecutors acknowledge presented no public health risk.
His father, Richard Hoyer, a retired high school teacher, has studied the snakes for 40 years as an amateur herpetologist. The elder Hoyer's research has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals.
Ryan Hoyer's legal trouble started in 2004 with the multistate investigation "Operation Slither." DWR and wildlife officials in several Western states executed search warrants at multiple locations while investigating large, illegal reptilian-trafficking operations.
When authorities served a search warrant in January 2004 at Hoyer's home and seized all 65 of his soft-scaled friends, he was crushed.
"It really hurt when this happened," Hoyer said. "I felt raped and powerless."
Hoyer said he knew immediately why the investigators were there: The search warrant stated they suspected Hoyer had 29 of the protected Southern California variety of rubber boas. He has now learned that DWR's confidential informant was a foe of his with a personal grudge.
In the end, Hoyer was never charged with involvement in trafficking -- though others in Operation Slither were -- and the charge that he collected the protected subspecies was dropped prior to trial. He was convicted, however, of an infraction for bringing 38 legally collected snakes from California without a proper Utah certificate of registration, an administrative requirement aimed at curbing the spread of animal diseases.
He paid almost $1,400 in fines and court fees when convicted in May 2007.
He appealed the conviction, stating the law was vague because it seemed to indicate the requirements applied only to livestock, but the Utah Court of Appeals upheld the conviction Thursday.
The story could have ended there, but for the deaths of the seized snakes. At the time, DWR officials reassured Hoyer the animals would be cared for properly while in their custody.
"We have professionals to feed them and keep them healthy for as long as it takes," then DWR Lt. Mike Fowlkes told the Associated Press the day after the raids.
But it wasn't long. And the snakes did not stay healthy.
"In May or June, the chief of law enforcement (for DWR) at the time, Rudy Musclow, mentioned there were a couple rubber boas that had died," Hoyer said. "By August, we got word that some 30 had died at that point."
Hoyer said his father begged to help train someone on proper care of the persnickety snakes -- they need careful temperature management and constant water supply -- but DWR refused.
"If these snakes had simply been provided water and shelter for a year, the vast majority would have been fine. Instead, within eight or nine months, half were dead," Hoyer said. "It is easy to overheat reptiles."
DWR referred all calls to the Office of the Attorney General and did not comment. Stephen Spencer represented Hoyer in his criminal infraction case and is also handling the civil case against the state.
"Suppose that your property was stolen by a thief ... then the state seized it and held it as evidence for trial, then destroyed it due to negligence. ... Regardless of whether that's jewelry, cash, rare paintings, family heirlooms, musical instruments, snakes, whatever -- (the state) is saying 'We don't owe you any duty of care for your property.' "
It's precisely that legal concept that sunk Hoyer's civil suit at the district level, Spencer admits.
The courts have found that a state agency is usually immune from negligence suits if the damaged property in question was taken as a part of a judicial action like a search warrant.
They have appealed that decision, hoping to convince the courts that this type of situation should be viewed differently.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Bates represents DWR in Hoyer's civil case. He said the state has immunity from negligence suits for reasons of expediency and public safety.
"The reason immunity is so important is prosecutors, police and administrative officials seize property across the state every day," he said. "If the government is going to be on the hook for negligence in every instance when accidentally denting something, it's just going to become unmanageable for police to do their jobs."
If Hoyer needs a remedy, Bates said, the law recognizes that he can organize a campaign to replace the elected officials responsible for the so-called negligence, but he cannot sue.
John Fox, abuse and neglect investigator for Humane Society Utah, said dead animals are more than just damaged property and should be given special protection.
He assessed the situation in moral, as well as legal terms.
"(Animals) are not just evidence, they're living breathing animals," he said. "Morally, you would say, if you seize animals ... the person seizing them should be at least equally experienced as the person they're seizing them from (in order) to care for them during that time."
He said Hoyer's situation with DWR is unique, but other animals face similar risks in state custody.
"Frankly, we get this deal quite frequently when animal control seizes an animal for evidence -- say, in a dog bite case. These cases can take anywhere from three to six months. Meanwhile, these animals sit in an animal control facility, they end up wasting away, going cage crazy or dying from a disease," Fox said. "I think it's a major concern that proper care is given."
Animals should be given back to their owners soon after seizure, Fox said, as their value as evidence in most cases diminishes quickly after they're taken into custody. At the very least, he said, it should be the right of the pet owner to have a hearing soon after the seizure to determine whether the animal can be returned pretrial.
Fox said another legal issue -- one that he hates -- likely would make criminal neglect charges against DWR employees impossible. Wildlife, he said, which a court could determine Hoyer's collected snakes to be, are not protected by Utah's neglect and cruelty laws.
Text 
