A Burmese python was confiscated near the Coney Island boardwalk in July, New York state officials say.<\/p>\n
The New York State Department on Environmental Conservation said in a release Friday<\/a> that an environmental conservation police officer was near the Riegelmann Boardwalk on July 12 when he saw about a dozen people, including children, crowded around a man who was showing off two snakes, including a ball python that was around his neck.<\/p>\n The officer asked the man about the snakes, and the man said the larger snake was a Burmese python that he owned, officials say.<\/p>\n The man was given a ticket and the snake was confiscated because it is illegal to own a Burmese python in New York state.<\/p>\n The snake was taken to the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to be cared for.<\/p>\n State officials did not provide the length of the snake, but a photo posted on Facebook<\/a> shows two officers handling it.<\/p>\n The DEC says Burmese pythons pose a danger to people and can severely impact native wildlife populations if they are let loose.<\/p>\n Another Burmese python measuring 8 feet long was recently captured in Freehold, New Jersey<\/a>. Officials believe that snake had been kept as a pet and was released on purpose.<\/p>\n