Rattlesnake credit: Cal OES
October 2, 2025 - Sacramento, California - A California entrepreneur filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging a law that prohibits his business from charging fees for rattlesnake aversion training. Jake Molieri argues that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is violating his rights by preventing him from engaging in commercial speech and denying him due process.
“Speech is protected under the First Amendment—paid or unpaid,” said Anastasia Boden, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. “Small business owners like Jake deserve to speak and work freely, without fearing that charging a fee could put them on the wrong side of the law.”
Molieri is the entrepreneur behind SnakeOut, a small business that removes rattlesnakes from Californians’ private property and offers aversion training—wilderness safety courses that teach dogs to identify and avoid dangerous local wildlife. Molieri has worked with pet owners and police departments to train more than 400 dogs in 2025 alone.
Unfortunately, SnakeOut has been forced into regulatory limbo by arbitrary restrictions from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. These restrictions prohibit Jake from charging a fee for aversion training programs—unless he uses non-native or albino rattlesnakes instead of the native rattlesnakes that dogs encounter.
Under Supreme Court precedent, the government cannot impose restrictions on speech based exclusively on whether or not that speech is paid. These restrictions violate the First Amendment and infringe on business owners’ constitutional rights.
Pacific Legal Foundation represents Molieri and SnakeOut free of charge. The case is SnakeOut, Inc. v. Charlton Bonham.
About Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Legal Foundation is a national nonprofit law firm that defends Americans threatened by government overreach and abuse. Since our founding in 1973, we challenge the government when it violates individual liberty and constitutional rights. With active cases in 34 states plus Washington, D.C., PLF represents clients in state and federal courts, with 18 wins of 20 cases litigated at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Source: Pacific Legal Foundation
