William Voiles is a regular sight in the French Quarter, pedaling his adult tricycle with a small menagerie of animals riding, remarkably calmly, in the front and rear baskets.
Photos from June show Voiles’ collection included a brown rabbit, a small white dog, a small brown dog and two opossums, one large and one little. The rolling cast of animals changes over time.
In online videos, Voiles can be seen pedaling along with a opossum clinging to his back and shoulders.
But on Feb. 10 at about 11 a.m., Voiles said, he was stopped by law enforcement officers near Royal and St. Peter streets. The officers spotted his pet opossum, Saffron, and one asked, “Is that opossum yours?”
Where's Saffron? Agency won't share fate, health of pet opossum seized during Mardi Gras
Voiles acknowledged that the creature, which was wearing a blue sweater, did indeed belong to him. The officers told him that owning an opossum was against the law, then summoned a small all-terrain vehicle with a cage in the back. They instructed Voiles to deposit the marsupial inside, he said.
Voiles said he asked the officers to please leave the sweater on the animal as long as possible.
William Voiles small menagerie of animals rode remarkably calmly through the French Quarter in the front and rear baskets of his adult tricycle in this 2023 photo. Now Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officers have confiscated Voiles pet opossum named Saffron
Seizing the prohibited opossum was part of a bigger crime-prevention plan.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents spent part of Carnival cracking down on the illegal possession of animals in the French Quarter. Three pythons and an opossum were reportedly taken from their keepers on Feb. 9 and Feb. 14. The eye-catching creatures are sometimes used by unauthorized vendors who accept payment for photo opps.
Voiles, 50, says he grew up as an “Army brat.” He was born in Germany, but has lived in Texas, Alabama and elsewhere.
Until a few months ago, he said, he was regularly employed on the Riverboat Natchez. He also sells crosses and fleurs-de-lis hand-woven from ribbon. Voiles said he does not solicit money with his pets.
Saffron came into his life last March as he cycled near Claiborne Avenue, he said. It was “a little baby,” he said, “no bigger than my thumb.” The tiny creature was clinging to its mother, which had apparently been killed by a car. Voiles said he bottle-fed the infant to maturity.
“It’s really a dog in an opossum body,” he said, because when Saffron was able to open his eyes, “dogs were the first thing he saw.”
Talking about the loss of his pet makes him emotional, he said.
Saffron the pet opossum has been confiscated by authorities
"It feels like they kidnapped my kid," Voiles told a reporter in an earlier interview on Feb. 12.
During the Mardi Gras season, 20 LDWF agents joined an enhanced law enforcement effort spearheaded by Sheriff Susan Hutson's office. LDWF biologists reportedly accompanied patrols to safely handle seized animals.
Voiles said he’s been told by a friend, who seemed to have some contact with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, that Saffron is being kept in a facility in Hammond.
Violes said that someone sent him a form to fill out, asking the authorities to grant him permission to keep the opossum, but he’s unable to print out the form from his phone in order to complete the process.
Saffron the pet opossum has been confiscated by authorities
Not everyone approves of the removal of Violes’ rescue opossum. As of Wednesday, almost 3,500 names had appeared on an online petition, beseeching the LDWF to return the animal to its owner. The petition concludes with the rallying cry “Bring Saffron home!”
Naturally, the media has made note of the situation. A report on the gulflive.com website equates the Saffron situation with a somewhat similar incident in 2023, when LDWF agents attempted to confiscate a Bucktown couple’s pet nutria, Neuty.
After a public outcry, the intercession of politicians, and the couple’s willingness to abide by certain LDWF stipulations, the nutria was allowed to remain with its family.
Since then Neuty has become a somewhat absurd cause célèbre who has posed with politicians, appeared on television, and ridden in two Carnival parades.
This is a developing story. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has been contacted for comment.
William Voiles small menagerie of animals rode remarkably calmly through the French Quarter in the front and rear baskets of his adult tricycle in this 2023 photo. Now Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officers have confiscated Voiles pet opossum named Saffron
Neuty, the controversial pet nutria, allowed to stay with Bucktown family
Neuty, Bucktown’s beloved orphaned nutria, visits the Louisiana State Capitol
Neuty the nutria stars, and nibbles, on the Tucker Carlson show
