Wounded 10-Foot Python Left On Mahwah Dumpster: Police

MAHWAH, NJ — A Mahwah resident got an unwelcome surprise on their recent trip to the dumpster as they were greeted by a 10-foot python. The snake had been recently wounded, according to a police report, and a local breeder was issued summonses.

Police were called to a garbage shed on Paddington Road near Masonicus Road after a resident reported a snake in the dumpster. Two police officers arrived on the scene and found the bloodied snake, which appeared to have a fresh stab wound on its head, the report said.

Officers were able to use a snare and an empty garbage bag to contain the snake, according to a police report. The python was described as "lethargic," and an animal control officer said it seemed as if the snake had also been hit with a blunt object.

TYCO Animal Control took possession of the snake, according to the report.

Police determined that a man who lived in the area, Derek McGuire, owns an online business selling and breeding pythons, specifically reticulated and ball pythons, the same snake found on the dumpster.

The business, D-Rassic Park, operates out of McGuire's residence, according to the report. An NNY360 report said he owned roughly 30 snakes in August 2020.

McGuire was issued summonses for unnecessary cruelty to an animal, failing to provide a living animal with care and abandoning a sick or disable animal.

He told the Daily Voice that he was trying to do what's best for his snakes that recently contracted a virus. Still, he told the publication, he came up short.

"I talked to some of the biggest breeders in the country. They said the least pain for the snake was to hit it over the head and crush the brain," McGuire told the publication. "I didn't do it right, and it didn't die."

A follow-up investigation was scheduled with the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife and TYCO.

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