Handling serperts and alligator wrasslin'? Man, I want to go to that service:
The pastor of a Kentucky church that handles snakes in religious rites was among 10 people arrested by wildlife officers in a crackdown on the venomous snake trade.More than 100 snakes, many of them deadly, were confiscated in the undercover sting after Thursday's arrests, 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.
Handling snakes is practiced in a handful of fundamentalist churches across Appalachia, based on the interpretation of Bible verses saying true believers can take up serpents without being harmed. The practice is illegal in most states, including Kentucky.
Coots, 36, is pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, where a Tennessee woman died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service in 1995. Her husband died three years later when he was bitten by a snake in northeastern Alabama.
Coots was charged Thursday with buying, selling and possessing illegal reptiles. He had no listed telephone number and couldn't be reached for comment. There was no phone listing for the church.
"It is disturbing to me that individuals would keep such dangerous wildlife in their homes and in neighborhoods where they put their families, visitors and neighbors at such high risk," Milligan said.
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.
I resent him bringing in that puff adder. The local venomous snakes aren't good enough for Sunday meetings? Next thing they'll be importing grits from Taiwan.
Posted by floridacracker at July 19, 2008 04:52 PMPuff adders, yes, but don't forget the cobras too. I don't want to know just how one comes by such as them!
My own imperfect understanding of the good book says that we are not supposed to be testing our luck with God like that, and that if we do we are liable to end up in serious hot water! Oh well, when is the last time you ever heard of a real Holy Roller letting a little thing like that stand in his way?
*Does Indiana Jones impression* I HATE SNAKES! I HATE 'EM!!!
I want him to get that kind of sssnake that will ssspit right in his ssstupid eyes as he ssspins around and trysss to kisss it.
asss hole
Cobras are the ones that do the spitting, what's wrong with this guy's specimens that they haven't pumped him full of their venom already? Or were they just biding their time, waiting for the right moment and storing up their juice? Snakes have always struck me as patient creatures, who understand better than most that the best revenge is simmered long and slow and seasoned with great care before it's served up. :)
Posted by: Little Starla at July 19, 2008 08:58 PMOh yea, cobras do spit.
I saw crocodile man get a faceful and thought it was another species.
What's his feelings about amphibians?
I got some cane toads he can have. He could lick them.
That way he can grow warts on his tongue. Yum yum. I like frogs too much to subject any to his attentions, though. Frogs just seem so cute and good-natured to me. Maybe it's all that Kermit the Frog, or maybe it's the Frog Prince fairy tale, but I just love frogs and want to rescue and take care of them. lol
Posted by: Little Starla at July 19, 2008 10:52 PMOne word to describe this guy comes to mind. Unfortunately I don't want to use that word at the risk of this being a family friendly blog.
Suffice it too say this guy wasn't very bright. Not to mention his interpretation of scripture is suspect at best.
Posted by: Pet Snakes at July 19, 2008 11:13 PMAhem..
Sorry I tuned in so late..
We had a chicken-stranglin' this afternoon at our church, and those things take so long..
All I can say is this is just one more damn gubment intrusion into the fine people of Kentucky's lives..
Next thing ya know, they'll be putting seat belts on the tractors.
BTW , Donnah..I'd bet that ol preacher man kept the gator nearby so the snakes would fell more at ease... but that's just a guess.
Posted by: csason at July 20, 2008 05:03 PMHaving grown up around chickens (you don't know true happiness till your nana has chopped the head off of one for supper and made a bad job of it and the thing goes rip-assing through the yard with its head half on and half off!) and now living in a very chicken-intensive area, your strangled chicken will get none of Starl's sympathy. It's amazing how something that hatches so cute and fluffy and just inviting to be picked up and rubbed against the cheek can so quickly turn into something so ugly, mean and stupid!
As for the alligator... maybe he was fixing to eat it? Fried alligator tail is food from heaven, if you ask me. :)
Yes.. Lil' Starla, I would do just about anything for a piece of tail also..
Unfortunately, I am about to reduce the gator population in my region by three.
During the recent dry spell, a 5, and a couple of smaller ones traversed the age old 'land bridge'
from somewhere to my backyard..normally, it wouldn't bother me so much...but in my old age I just don't have time or patience to keep up with their activities. So it's just better for me to
send them to gator heaven, via the hotplate if possible.
I damn sure won't invite FWC to the party..they
just treat them like celebrities.
I'll bring the hot sauce, how bout?
We don't have many places where you can get gator around here, but one place does serve it, they do it deep-fried as an appetizer and also they do gator fajitas. The fajitas are OUT OF THIS WORLD!
**Most were taken from the Middlesboro home of Gregory James Coots**
The sound you hear is that of a million northern bloggers furiously tapping out dispatches calling attention to the southern, religious guy named "Coots."
Posted by: CJ at July 21, 2008 02:32 PMDo you suppose that before he got religion and took up handling snakes and such, his friends called him Cooter? And his enemies called him Cooties?
Posted by: Little Starla at July 21, 2008 02:40 PMYeah I noticed Hannity's America included some Louisiana swamp critter this week..
So between Coot the snake handler, and the three toed swamp thing..the 'northern bloggers' are certainly in data overload.
The more they try to kill us off..the more we replicate.
Starla, the best way I know of preparing swamp lizard for dining is to take the 'backstrap' and
cut it in 1" thick cutlets, and grill till white...season to taste.
Tempura also adds an extra dimension when deep frying.
This isn't the same guy who brought his motorcycle up to the pulpit with him, is it?
Posted by: James at July 22, 2008 06:35 PMPlease pass the moccaisins.
Posted by: Mockinbird at July 23, 2008 11:53 AM