For those bothered by their neighbor’s barking dog or wandering cat, consider counting your blessings. One Clayton County home had more than 20 animals — and not just the warm and fuzzy kind.
Officials last week rescued a lemur, an alligator, two lizards, multiple snakes and over a dozen dogs from what they say was an illegal exotic animal trade in one man’s home. Clayton ordinances limit households to a maximum of five animals. JaeQuan Smith Devers was arrested on several charges, including six counts of possession of wild animals without a permit, according to the sheriff’s office.
That’s likely a fraction of the animals he has imported and exported over the years, said Lt. Bubba Stanford with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which had been investigating the operation for several years. The investigation is still ongoing.
“This was not a one-time occurrence. This has been a pattern through the last several years,” Stanford said.
Credit: Clayton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Clayton County Sheriff's Office
Smith Devers spoke with Channel 2 Action News and said the raid was unnecessary. He called the description of the illegal animal trade offensive.
“People call me instead of letting the animals into the wild. So, I am actually doing a favor,” Smith Devers told Channel 2.
He said he aspires to open a rescue or pet shop in the future and plans to go through the proper permit process to continue his work, the news station reported.
Georgia has a prominent illegal exotic animal trade, Stanford said. While people cannot legally have wild animals as pets, they can get permits to run zoos or safaris for educational purposes open to the public. But having pets classified as invasive, wild or exotic by state regulations is illegal.
“In Georgia, we do not permit wildlife or wild animals as pets,” Stanford said. “There’s quite the market, not only in Georgia, but across the nation and internationally, with the illegal pet trade, illegal wild animals, illegal wildlife.”
Clayton Animal Control took the dogs, puppies and one snake from the home while the DNR handled the more exotic creatures, including the lemur and two tegus, a lizard that is an invasive species in Georgia, Stanford said. The DNR partners with organizations that are permitted to have the exotic animals.
“All of these animals are in the hands and care of properly trained, knowledgeable, experienced permit holders now,” Stanford said.
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