THEM TO THE CITY. WE HAVE THEIR ANSWERS. ABC 15 NEWS AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW >>WORKING FOR YOU. THIS IS ABC 15 NEWS AT SIX. >>POLICE SAY A FLORENCE MAN IS SOMEWHAT BETTER TONIGHT AFTER BEING BITTEN BY ONE OF HIS 14 SNAKES THAT HE HOUSED IN HIS HOME. THEY SAY HE IS NOT OUT OF THE WOODS JUST YET. OFFICERS SAY THE MAN OWNED THE REPTILE, SOME OF WHICH ARE AMONG THE WORLD'S MOST VENOMOUS SNAKES. ABC 15 S TONYA BROWN FIRST REPORTED THE INCIDENT. SHE'S LIVE TONIGHT FROM THE FLORENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT. TONYA >>JENNIFER. POLICE SAY THE MAN CALLED 911 AND TOLD DISPATCHERS THAT HE'D BEEN BITTEN BY ONE OF HIS SNAKES. SOME HAVE QUESTIONED IF YOU CAN OWN SUCH DANGEROUS AND VENOMOUS SNAKES IN THE CITY OF FLORENCE AND THE COUNTY, AND THE ANSWER IS YOU CAN POLICE AND GAME WARDENS REMOVED 14 SNAKES LAST FRIDAY FROM AN APARTMENT ON WEST MARION AT HAROLD STREETS IN FLORENCE, AFTER THE MAN WHO OWNED THE SNAKES WAS BITTEN BY ONE OF THEM. POLICE SAY THE MAN'S FAMILY GAVE THEM THE OKAY TO HUMANELY EUTHANIZE THE REPTILES. OFFICERS TELL ME THEY SEIZED RATTLESNAKES A GREEN MAMBA, GABOON, VIPERS COBRAS AND AN INLAND TAIPAN. A SOURCE SAYS IT WAS THE INLAND TAIPAN THAT BIT THE MAN. SEVERAL ONLINE PUBLICATIONS SAY IT'S ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST VENOMOUS SNAKES. I TALKED WITH A CLEMSON UNIVERSITY WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST ABOUT THE TYPES OF SNAKES REMOVED FROM THE MAN'S HOME. >>ALL THE SNAKES THAT HE HAD IN HIS HOME ARE DEFINITELY VERY VENOMOUS, WITH ALL SNAKES IN GENERAL, YOU ALWAYS WANT TO MAINTAIN A SAFE DISTANCE WITH THEM AND ONLY HANDLE THEM IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL. >>SOME QUESTION HOW IT CAN BE LEGAL TO OWN SUCH VENOMOUS CREATURES IN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF FLORENCE. NEITHER HAVE ORDINANCES AGAINST OWNING THEM. BUT YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO RESELL, GIVE AWAY OR RELEASE THE SNAKES INTO THE WILD. POLICE SAY THEY COULDN'T FIND A STATE ORDINANCE AGAINST IT EITHER. THE WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST TELLS ME IF YOU OWN OR PLAN TO GET A PET SNAKE, THAT'S EXTREMELY VENOMOUS, DO YOUR RESEARCH. IF YOU ARE KEEPING EXOTIC SNAKES OBVIOUSLY KNOWING ABOUT THEM AND WHERE THEY COME FROM AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT, I THINK DEFINITELY IS VERY IMPORTANT A COUPLE OF A COUPLE OF SOURCES TELLS ME THAT THE HOSPITAL HAD TO GET THE ANTIVENOM TO TREAT THE SNAKE BITE VICTIM FROM ANOTHER STATE. MCLEOD HEALTH DID NOT SAY EITHER WAY, BUT DID TELL ME THAT THEY HAVE ANTIVENOM IN STOCK FOR SNAKES THAT ARE NATIVE TO OUR AREA. LIVE IN FLORENCE. TONYA BROWN ABC 15 NEWS. >>TONYA THANK YOU. WE HAVE REQUESTED A COPY OF THE POLICE