WILMINGTON—Last month, the court-ordered private sale of the Serpentarium was approved. But what happened to the snakes, crocodiles and other reptiles?
Apparently, the animals are currently being auctioned off by a third party in Arizona. This raises questions, because not all of the Serpentarium’s reptiles may be legal for sale.
Court-ordered private sale
Until early May, the Superior Court of New Hanover County was considering a plan to reopen the Serpentarium.
After the death of founder and former owner Dean Ripa, manager William Beard had taken over the operation. Under North Carolina law, the owner of a facility is required to have the proper permits to house reptiles like the ones at the Serpentarium.
The facility was technically owned by Ripa’s four-year-old son Arkin, and overseen by Ripa’s sister, Terri Hunnicutt; neither of them had the proper permits. Beard did, and so he offered to lease the facility short term, which would allow it to reopen.
In April, Beard said the plan to re-open had Hunnicutt’s blessing, and that the court seemed to consider it favorably. That changed in May, when Wilmington Realtor Todd Toconis testified that Beard’s offer was far below the market value; citing that testimony, the court moved to sell the Serpentarium.
Beard said he was never given the chance to adjust his offer.
“We were just offering a temporary solution – if that’s what the lease should have been, that’s what we would have offered,” Beard said. “They made it sound like I didn’t have sufficient income which is far from the truth – plus I had investors.”
Beard said he wanted to take over the lease and operation of the Serpentarium because Hunnicutt claimed the business was a drain on the estate’s finances.
“In the end, we were trying to put some money in Arkin’s trust while the building went up for sale.”
Beard acknowledged that the sale of the building would likely be in Arkin’s best interest. However, Beard had hoped that after a short-term lease, he could either purchase the building or lease it from a new owner.
According to New Hanover County property records, which are updated within about 15 minutes of a formal sale according to Spokeswoman Jessica Loeper, the building has not yet sold. The Superior Court of New Hanover County has repeatedly declined to comment on who the building is being sold to, as has Arkin’s Guardian Ad Litem Lawrence Craige and Toconis.
Beard said he did not know who the buyer for the Serpentarium will be, or if there even is one yet.
In large part, that has become a moot point to Beard, since the reptiles have all been sold.
Snake Sale
The reptiles are not listed among the property in the court’s sale order. However, Beard – who attended the court hearing – said the Phoenix Herpetological Society, a non-profit based in Scottsdale, Arizona, was brought in to serve as a court-authorized auction house for the animals.
The organization’s president, Russell Johnson, confirmed that.
“I cleaned them out,” Johnson said. “We took them all.”
According to Johnson, the Superior Court Clerk ordered the reptiles “liquidated” as property. He confirmed the reptiles were moved to the Phoenix Herpetological Society facility. From there, Johnson said his organization was managing the sale of the reptiles pro bono, and returning the profits to Ripa’s estate.
“We’re doing this free of charge,” Johnson said. “Every cent goes to Arkin. We’ve sold about half of the reptiles and we’re at $55,000, $56,000 – all that goes to the trust set up for Arkin.”
Selling native or endangered species
According to Beard, the difficulty of legally selling many of the animals because they were native species, and because some were on loan and thus not the Serpentatrium’s property, radically reduced their value. When Beard compiled a ledger of the Serpentarium’s collection at Hunnicutt’s behest, he valued it at around $7,000.
That begs the question: was the court-ordered sale legal?
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) is now looking into the issue, according to Section Manager Daron Barnes. According to Barnes, the WRC was not aware of the sale.
While the WRC does not regulate the possession or sale of exotic reptiles, like the Serpentarium’s Nile Crocodiles, it does require permits for the sale of native species, like the Canebrake Rattlesnake, Cottonmouth or snapping turtles that were part of the collection.
Federal authorities were also unaware of the sale, although federal permits are required to sell animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. If the sale was illegal for other reasons, it would also fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because the animals are being sold across state lines.
Fish and Wildlife Spokeswoman Christina Meister said, “Our law enforcement staff told me that we are unaware of the proceedings and determinations of the court. Generally, unless the species is protected under the Endangered Species Act, or proven to have been illegally obtained, there are no federal permit requirements to sell legally acquired animals across state lines.”
Meister also directed questions to the Department of Justice.
Wyn Hornbuckle, the deputy director of the DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs, said the department would not comment on the legality of the sale or whether the DOJ was aware of it.
Send comments and tips to Benjamin Schachtman at ben@localvoicemedia.com, @pcdben on Twitter, and (910) 538-2001.
