RANDOLPH COUNTY, W.Va. — A West Virginia man is facing charges after officers with the state’s Natural Resources Police found 17 rattlesnakes inside his Randolph County home.
The agency received a tip that someone was taking snakes from a national forest and transporting them to a home nearby.
When officers investigated, they discovered the snakes inside the home of the suspect, who has not been publicly identified.
He's been charged with two counts of illegal possession of a timber rattlesnake and possession of a rattlesnake less than 42 inches, which is illegal in West Virginia, according to a post on the agency's social media page.
In West Virginia, it’s only legal to have one rattlesnake in a home, and it must be 42 inches or longer.
Wildlife officers returned the snakes to dens near where they were caught.