John Duff, one of the most recognizable figures in Uptown, was arrested and booked into the Yavapai County jail on Friday, Nov. 17, on eight felony counts of cruelty to animals and three misdemeanor charges of animal abuse.

Duff has been operating Northern Arizona Rescues and Reptiles as what he describes as a “wildlife and exotic animal exhibit” near 299 N. State Route 89A, allowing visitors to pose for photographs with his collection of reptiles.

Duff was arrested at 9:04 a.m. on Friday by the Sedona Police Department at 2757 W. SR 89A, who also served him with a search warrant for his motorhome.

“Upon completion of the search warrant, 54 snakes were located, eight of which were deceased, four [geckos], one lizard, three tarantulas and two rats were removed,” the incident report stated. “All but a few of the live animals were in good health. The rest were all in states of starvation and illness. Some are not expected to survive.”

The Phoenix Herpetological Society is currently carrying out a complete examination of the animals in their care, with some of the animals showing signs of scale rot, respiratory issues and mite infestation. No additional animals in the care of PHS had died as of Monday, Nov. 20, according to PHS President Russ Johnson, who added that their veterinarian is in the process of examining the animals.

“It smelled like dead reptiles,” Johnson said of Duff’s motorhome. “As soon as I opened the side door, [there] was a strong smell, between the dead animal smell plus the smell of urates — in snakes they usually pass their urine in a solid form and it’s called urates — and there was a very strong smell of urates, especially in the boa containers.”

Johnson described the eight dead snakes found as being “completely desiccated. [A] couple of them were not even identifiable. So they had to have been in there for a long time.”

“The problem with reptiles [is] if they’re far along in starvation, they can start [having] organ failure and organ failure can’t be reversed,” Johnson said. “There might have to be a need to — and I’m not saying it’s going to happen — but there might be a need to euthanize some so they are no longer in pain. And people who say reptiles don’t feel pain have no idea what they’re talking about.”

“Animals were living in their own waste, there were cobwebs … and there were animals living among other dead animals,” city Communications Manager Lauren Browne said. “Additional charges could be pending depending on the outcome of the vet examination of the animals.”

Duff has a home in Sedona and the investigation is “ongoing into additional snakes inside his residence,” Browne said. The motorhome Duff used to house his animals has been towed and his four dogs have been taken to the humane society. SPD has been investigating Duff for several months.

“There was no tipoff, but concerned citizens made complaints to the Sedona Police Department after viewing the animals in Uptown, which then launched the Sedona Police Department’s investigation,” Browne said. “There have been previous concerns about animals and their living conditions but not to this extent.”

There was at least one complaint in mid-August from a Verde Valley resident who believed that Duff was “mistreating the herpetofauna that he keeps within cages for exhibition purposes in Uptown.” The report went onto say that “Game and Fish will be notified to conduct another health study of [Duff’s] reptiles.”

Arizona Game and Fish Supervisor Tim Holt, who was at the scene, said he sees one to two similar incidents annually across the state.

“Generally, whenever local jurisdictions, police department or sheriff’s offices have any wildliferelated crimes or potential crimes, they call us to assist,” Holt said. “Our primary role is to identify the species [and] identify the legality of those species in possession.”

Holt stated that all of the animals in Duff’s possession were lawfully acquired, including two native rattlesnakes.

“The Phoenix Herpetological Society [is] a nonprofit organization that the Arizona Game and Fish Department works with collaboratively to house reptiles in situations like this,” Holt said. “Where animals have to be taken from somebody that may or may not be taking care of them appropriately and or has them unlawfully. You have to have special experience with reptiles to be able to handle them and possess them and store them as evidence and take care of them appropriately. We’ve determined Phoenix Herpetological Society is such an organization.”

The society has several certifications from Arizona Game and Fish and is licensed as a zoo, a wildlife service permittee and a wildlife rehabber. “Mr. Duff does not have any special licenses from [the] Arizona Game and Fish Department regarding those similar types of activities,” Holt said.

While Duff ’s social media described his operation as “a nonprofit group that hosts an educational exhibit,” he never completed the process to register it as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Duff claimed on his Facebook page in December 2019 that “we currently care for over 240 animals that reside in five separate locations within Sedona and in Scottsdale.”

The city of Sedona has not yet been in contact with Scottsdale authorities regarding Duff’s case.

Johnson said the courts will decide whether the animals confiscated from Duff will be returned to him. Duff does not currently have a court date to answer the charges.