Police charge owner of python found in Midland family's home

Police say they have found the owner of a python that showed up at a central Ontario home earlier this month and charged him with possession of a prohibited animal.

At the time of the incident, police said the three-metre python somehow got inside the residence in Midland and coiled itself up under a shelf in the living room.

Police were called to the home along with animal control officers, but when they tried to capture the reptile, it slithered out of reach and went underneath a large couch.

The snake was then safely caught and handed over to Huronia Animal Control.

Insp. Ron Wheeldon of Midland police says a 22-year-old man has been charged under a local bylaw on pet ownership which carries a fine of $100.

Wheeldon refused to identify the man, but said he lived about 1 1/2 blocks away from the home where the snake was captured.

Midland Animal Control Officer Randy Bidan says the python will go to a licensed zoo facility in the Simcoe County area.

He says the creature is a reticulated python, not a Burmese python as reported earlier.