Bourbon Street has seen snakes, turtles and opossums. Where did they all go?

Among the hordes of revelers, hustlers and eccentrics who flock to Bourbon Street every evening, there is something enduring, controversial and impersonal.

It’s been two years since state wildlife agents began efforts to remove pythons, boas and other animals that were shouldered and pushed in carts from the footpath.

The animals and their owners – most of whom wanted to make a lot of money from admiring tourists – have been around ever since.

After the seizure of four animals during and after Mardi Gras in 2024, when Gov. When Jeff Landry sent agents from the Louisiana Department of Game and Fish to Bourbon Street, agents encountered only one animal in the field in the past two years: a live alligator in February, department records show.

“We haven’t caught a single snake this year to my knowledge, and that tells you right there,” said Stephen Clark, head of the Department of Wildlife’s enforcement division. “Our presence not only during Mardi Gras but all high-traffic events has succeeded in preventing people from bringing animals in large numbers of people.”

The animal cruelty, dubbed “Operation Exotic,” is just one of the latest and most widespread operations from state, local and federal law enforcement agencies that have transformed the street known around the world. Officials have also focused on clearing homeless encampments and said their presence deters crime.

The push has sent vendors, performers and snakes into hibernation and has sparked an ongoing debate over who owns Bourbon Street.

“There is a criminal, and there is a group of regular workers,” said Laney Greco, who was arrested in May 2024 for bringing a 10-foot, 8-inch Burmese python to Bourbon Street and Orleans Avenue. “He hurts the working people who are trying to improve tourism.”

Breaking the law

Pet owners ran up against many state and city codes. State law prohibits the possession of snakes longer than eight meters, and the sale of reptiles or amphibians without a license. New Orleans municipal code prohibits the keeping of any wild or exotic animal as a pet, including snakes larger than three feet, monkeys, raccoons, squirrels, leopards, alligators and roosters.

Under an agreement with the State Police, 50 agents have enforced those and other laws in the city during major events, such as the Bayou Classic, New Year’s Eve and Mardi Gras, Clark said. Records show Wildlife Deputies have been involved in 84 incidents on Bourbon Street since 2024, mostly on charges such as drug and firearms possession.

Department records show agents encountered five snakes, one opossum and an unspecified number of red-eared slider turtles from February to May 2024. The presence of agents appears to have been a deterrent, as few, except Eurrell Johnson, was caught dragging a 3 to 4-foot alligator down Bourbon 1 Street to the pebs.

At seven animal meetings, representatives hit their owners with quotes. Four animals were confiscated, while the other three remained with their owners. Only one owner, Greco, was arrested, violating multiple city codes, according to a state incident report.

Different opinions

Jeff Dorson, executive director of the Humane Society of Louisiana, said he supports the enforcement of laws that prohibit animals from being there.

“Wildlife and Bourbon Street are not a good combination,” Dorson said. “The noise, the crowd, is the opposite of how these animals like to live: away from people in the wilderness. Not on Bourbon Street.”

Christian Pendleton, commissioner of the French Quarter Management District and general manager of Brennan’s restaurant, said the change on Bourbon Street is welcome.

“This is a neighborhood first. This is people’s homes first. This is people’s businesses first,” he said. “Snakes can be very disturbing to people.”

Some of the implementations have drawn criticism. When Saffron opossum was swept into the net for Carnival 2024, a petition to “bring Saffron home” to her owner William Voiles attracted nearly 14,000 signatures, as New Orleanians blamed the situation for intruding on the private relationship between man and pet.

Once released from prison, Greco tried to continue caring for Sonny during his time at Northshore. After informing Wildlife Agent Jimmie Daniel that the rats were upsetting Sonny’s stomach, Greco arranged a meeting with Daniel at a Shell station near the Twin Span Bridge to donate three live rabbits for the python’s use, state records show.

In an August interview, Greco said he had not received word on the snake’s whereabouts. When he came back last week.

Greco said: “I hope he’s not dead, but it’s been almost two years now.”

Although animal-related citations have decreased, the creatures have not completely disappeared from Bourbon Street, Pendleton said.

Just last week, Pendleton said he saw two people riding Segways down a busy street with snakes around their necks.

“You’re like, ‘Ugh. Here we go again,'” Pendleton said.