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Hundreds hop downtown for annual Easter Egg Hunt

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Closing Thoughts: Here at the Home Style & Living Show

<p>SIOUX FALLS, S.D. &#8212; A man who was fined for allowing his pet snake to slither freely in a South Dakota park said an animal control officer suggested he use a leash to restrain the reptile.</p><p>Jerry Kimball said he initially thought the recommendation was a joke because it was April Fool&#8217;s Day when he was fined $190 and ticketed last week for &#8220;animals running at large,&#8221; told the Argus Leader (<a href="http://argusne.ws/2oMstxK" target="_blank">http://argusne.ws/2oMstxK</a> ).</p><p>&#8220;He was literally asking me to put a rope around my snake,&#8221; Kimball said. &#8220;I was like, &#8216;Dude, no.&#8217; I was dumbfounded.&#8221;</p><p>Kimball was approached by the officer after a woman complained that his Fire Bee Ball Python was roaming freely at Falls Park in Sioux Falls.</p><p>Animal Control Supervisor Julie DeJong said a city ordinance requires all pets to be leashed or restrained in public. She said pet snakes can be held or kept in a container to comply.</p><p>&#8220;If it&#8217;s in public and it&#8217;s not on a leash, it&#8217;s at large. The ordinance doesn&#8217;t really distinguish between animals,&#8221; she said.</p><p>DeJong added that snake lovers should be more sensitive to the aversion many people feel toward the animal<ins>. While non-venomous snakes are legal to own, not all park visitors will welcome a python in a park</ins>.</p><p>But Kimball said he considers it his mission to rid the public&#8217;s fear of snakes.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s my purpose in life: To let people know that snakes aren&#8217;t killers,&#8221; he said.<ins> &#8220;What better way to give back than to help people understand these misunderstood creatures?&#8221;</ins></p><p><ins>Kimball said he plans to fight the ticket in court.</ins></p><p style="text-align: right;"><em> &#8212; The Associated Press</em></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">File- This Feb. 16, 2013, photo shows a Burmese python being displayed at the python hunt awards ceremony presented by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, at Zoo Miami. A Florida senator who once hunted down a 9-foot Burmese python wants the state to pay private contractors to eradicate pythons and other invasive species from the Everglades.
Republican Sen. Frank Artiles, who doubles as a python hunter, said during a committee meeting Tuesday that the effort is needed because &#x201c;furry creatures&#x201d; and American alligator nests are being destroyed by the voracious snakes. (Peter Andrew Bosch /Miami Herald via AP)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_python.jpg</photo0><caption0>File- This Feb. 16, 2013, photo shows a Burmese python being displayed at the python hunt awards ceremony presented by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, at Zoo Miami. A Florida senator who once hunted down a 9-foot Burmese python wants the state to pay private contractors to eradicate pythons and other invasive species from the Everglades.
Republican Sen. Frank Artiles, who doubles as a python hunter, said during a committee meeting Tuesday that the effort is needed because &#x201c;furry creatures&#x201d; and American alligator nests are being destroyed by the voracious snakes. (Peter Andrew Bosch /Miami Herald via AP)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Talker: South Dakota man gets $190 fine for snake without leash