Charges have been stayed in the case of a Mission man, known as the “Reptile Guy.”
Michael Hopcraft was facing two counts of Animal Cruelty after a video surfaced of him performing a procedure on a friend’s blood python.
He was also charged with one count of violating the Veterinarians Act.
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“Previous media reports said that I performed a surgery on a snake without pain meds or anesthetic and that, but the reality is that we gave a snake an enema, that is it,” said Hopcraft.
Hopcraft claimed the video was educational, and that the procedure saved the reptile’s life. He said even though the charges have been stayed, his family’s life has been turned upside down.
“It basically ruined everything I’ve been working for my entire life, and I don’t know how we’re going to recover from that,” said Hopcraft.
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“We had to downsize significantly, we had to stop taking in rescues, we had to sell a whole bunch of our animals and that as a result of the charges because we just didn’t have the money to continue on the way we were and just trying to explain to my daughter was going on was extremely difficult.
“We’re not even taking animals in, I turn down animals almost weekly now because I don’t have anywhere to take them because we had to downsize so much,” said Hopcraft.
Hopcraft was charged in July and has faced accusations from the SPCA in the past. We have reached out to the SPCA for comment.
In a statement, Crown counsel said the charges were stayed after new information was brought forward by investigators to the BC Prosecution Service.
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