A fundamentalist priest was among one of 10 people arrested in Kentucky for involvement in the venomous snake trade.More than 100 snakes, many of them deadly, were confiscated in the undercover sting, said Col. Bob Milligan, director of law enforcement for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.
Most were taken from the Middlesboro home of Gregory James Coots, including 42 copperheads, 11 timber rattlesnakes, three cottonmouth water moccasins, a western diamondback rattlesnake, two cobras and a puff adder.
Snake handling is practice among many fundamentalist groups across Appalachia. The practice is based on the Bible verse saying true believers can take up venomous snakes without being harmed. The practice is illegal in most states, including Kentucky.
Coots was charged Thursday with buying, selling and possessing illegal reptiles. The pastor, 36, had a woman die in his Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church in 1995, after she was bitten by a rattlesnake.
The snakes, plus one alligator, were turned over to the nonprofit Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade. Most appeared to have been captured from the wild, with some imported from Asia and Africa.
Officials believe many of the reptiles would have been sold as exotic pets if not for the seizure.
"You can purchase anything off the Internet except common sense," zoo director Jim Harrison said. "A venomous snake isn't a pet. You don't play with it. If you do, you're an idiot."
