New Palestine looks to limit reptiles and exotic pets after neighbors raise concerns; local breeder feels targeted

NEW PALESTINE, Ind. — There is controversy over whether or not residents in New Palestine should be allowed to own exotic animals and large reptiles as the town council looks to amend its animal ordinances to place limits on what kinds of reptiles residents can own and where they can house them.

“We had been notified by county animal control that there was a concern about one of our New Pal residents and the number and the types of animals that resident was keeping,” Council President Ethan Maple said.

That resident is Jeff Lewis, who owns and breeds a variety of reptiles but mostly snakes. He was notified that,, by keeping the animals in his home, he was violating the town’s animal ordinance and was told to to get rid of them.

Lewis said he pushed back.

“I was like, ‘Why am I getting rid of them?’ They were like, ‘Because they’re dangerous animals,’ and so I asked her to define dangerous,” Lewis said. “She said, ‘Anything that can bite.’ So I was like, ‘Well dogs can bite,’ and we still have those.”

Lewis said he was then told that his animals were “scary” and “people don’t like them.”

“I basically went in, and I was like nothing I have here is defined in the ordinance, and that’s why they’ve completely changed it,” Lewis said.

The current ordinance on the books bans the owning of “dangerous reptiles, exotic animals and birds of prey” in town limits. Defining exotic as “any animal not naturally found in the state.”

Lewis pleaded his case to the town council, believing he complied because “dangerous” and “exotic” are open to interpretation. The council decided to amend the current ordinance to make it more specific.

The proposed ordinance would prevent residents from owning more than four reptiles, arachnids, birds of prey or exotic animals. None of which can be longer than five feet.

It would also prevent them from being publicly displayed, sold, bred or transfered. Residents would also not be allowed to possess any venomous species or house them in apartments or multi-family dwellings.

“It was clear that some adjustments and massaging of language needed to happen in our ordinance,” Maple said. “Our council is pretty much agreed that there should be some guide rails or some boundaries or restrictions when it comes to possessing reptiles in residential areas.”

Maple argues the new language allows for more ownership of the animals, but Lewis feels its targeted at him and being used as a tool to force his hand.

“I wouldn’t say (I was) the complete outcast, but I’ve always been doing my own thing,” Lewis said. “It just sucks that like the one thing that I want, they are completely making sure that I can’t continue to do this.”

Lewis believes it all stems from an incident where one of his snakes got loose and ended up in a neighbor’s yard. Maple denies that claim.

“It was clear that this is something dear to him,” Maple said. “On the other side, it also brought up some concerns and some uncomfortableness.”

Maple acknowledged that the overwhelming feedback they’ve received on the ordinance change has been negative, but he said a lot of that feedback has come from people who are not New Palestine residents.

The United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK) has launched an effort to fight the ordinance change.

“Snakes are what most people have a fear of, and really, it’s an irrational fear,” Phil Goss with USARK said. “A lot of it deals with Hollywood. You see these man-eating snakes. That doesn’t happen.”

Goss said the ordinances is not based in facts and pointed out that Indiana’s native rat snakes can reach up to 8 feet long. They would therefore be disqualified under New Pal’s proposed ordinance.

Maple argues the change is in the interest of public safety and the well-being of the animals.

Lewis said that no matter what happens, he won’t give up his passion.

“For now I’ve got a buddy who can temporarily home them and then I will be probably immediately listing the house for sale and getting out of here,” he said.

The ordinance proposal is set to get its second reading at the council’s next meeting on April 16.

You can read the proposed ordinance here: