Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 29, Number 4;   April, 2002

Sanford Drives Out Snakes, And Local Snake Wholesaler

Monday, Commissioners voted unanimously to make pet wholesaler Joe Krefetz find somewhere else to store and sell his roughly 10,000 snakes, lizards, chameleons, frogs and spiders. JP Pets has operated from an office building on Sanford Avenue for about six months until neighbors complained to the Commissioners that the business had no occupational license. The complaint was the result of the owners of neighboring businesses stating that JP Pets is an inappropriate business for the area. They also reported finding reptiles around the building and in their offices since the place opened.

"Having imported snakes and lizards running around the neighborhood does not enhance my business, nor does it enhance the image of Sanford," furniture maker Joe Hartwig told planning board members. Linda Kuhn, a neighboring business owner who also lives in the area, said one of her cats was injured in a fight with a 2½-foot iguana. In an e-mail to the city, she said that while she could not prove it belonged to Krefetz, "it is certainly a remarkable coincidence."

Krefetz's attorney, George Wallace, told city commissioners that Krefetz is careful to keep his animals contained, because his livelihood depends on it. As for snakes and lizards on the loose, he said, well -- that's life in Florida.

Wallace also poked fun at the notion that one of Krefetz's iguanas would have attacked a cat. "Iguanas are vegetarians," Wallace said. "They don't attack living animals. They don't eat them." Krefetz was disappointed. "If I was wholesaling shoelaces or sunglasses, it would be different," he said.