A New York man is accused of catching a live timber rattlesnake and bringing it home in a bucket.
Then an environmental conservation police officer discovered the head of another rattlesnake in his freezer.
The case began July 28 when a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officer responded to a report of a timber rattlesnake left inside a bucket outside a residence in the town of Wawarsing, Ulster County, according to the DEC.
The officer determined that a man had removed the rattlesnake from another property and transported it back to his apartment inside the bucket.
During the investigation, the officer learned the man also had the head of another timber rattlesnake stored in a freezer inside his apartment.
The man admitted capturing the live rattlesnake and possessing the rattlesnake head. He voluntarily surrendered both to the officer.
The man was ticketed for taking or possessing a threatened species in New York. The live rattlesnake was released back into the wild. The rattlesnake head was kept as evidence.
Timber rattlesnakes are venomous and are classified as a threatened species in New York. It is illegal to take, transport, possess or sell them without a DEC permit.
The DEC also released video showing the live rattlesnake being returned to the wild.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NY man had live rattlesnake in bucket, another rattlesnake's head in freezer