Holding a boa, B.C. enviroment minister takes one for the team
Sure to go down in the annals of wacky photo ops, B.C. environment minister Barry Penner, who suffers from ophidiophobia—a fear of snakes—announces B.C.’s ban on exotic pets, while holding a boa. Penner, looking deeply uncomfortable, recalled the tragic death of 32-year-old Tanya Dumstrey-Soos—clawed by a Siberian tiger two years ago—when announcing B.C.’s Controlled Alien Species Regulation; it bans 1,256 animals that pose a serious threat to public safety.