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Pet Talk: Snake laws can be squirmy
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by tigers9 on May 19, 2008
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http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20080519/NEWS/82975865
Pet Talk: Snake laws can be squirmy
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An American alligator and a Burmese python during a struggle in Florida's Everglades National Park.
AP/National Park Service
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Linda Lombardi
Associated Press
Vail, CO Colorado
May 19, 2008
Snakes are more popular pets than you might believe. An estimated 4.8 million American households own one or more pet reptiles, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
Although some special expertise is needed, the care of snakes is not time consuming, and for many who are fascinated by them, it’s hard to stop at just one.
Some species are even bred for special colors and patterns, like more familiar pets.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it is just gathering information about which species might be of environmental concern at the moment, and what the economic impacts might be. No new rules have been proposed.
The inquiry began after Florida began coping with a growing number of released Burmese pythons.
Snake expert David Barker of Texas, says that these snakes, which can grow to 20 feet long and over 200 pounds, are valuable when they’re small and when very large. But in between, at about 8-10 feet in length, owners often find that they’ve become a handful, and are unable to sell them.
“They get irritable — they’re teenagers,” he says. “You can’t get rid of one, you can’t give it away.”
This can lead irresponsible owners to release their pet into the wild.
Linda Friar of Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Park says the problem there has been increasing: in 1993, they found only about 27 of these snakes, but in 2007 the number was 250, and the educated guess is that “for every one we find, they are 10 more.”
Officials are concerned about possible effects of these snakes on native species.
But it’s somewhat understandable that snake owners react strongly to the threat of legislation, given the confusing patchwork of widely varying local and state laws that affect them. For example, conservation regulations in some states ban the keeping of native species — even individuals bred in captivity — to protect them from being collected from the wild. This worthy goal means it can be illegal to own, for example, a corn snake, which is a good first pet snake for children.
Reptiles may also fall under laws regulating dangerous animals, wildlife, or exotic pets, which may ban or require permits for certain species. The logic behind behind the laws doesn’t always make sense to snake enthusiasts.
For example, the city of Baltimore bans any snake longer than 5 feet. But there are 5-foot long snakes that are not much thicker than your thumb, and are unlikely to endanger anything bigger than a mouse. And Delaware currently requires a permit for any non-native species of reptile, no matter how small and inoffensive.
Regulating snakes as “wildlife” also raises the question of how long an animal must be bred in captivity before it is no longer considered wild. Barker argues that his ball pythons now essentially domesticated: “They’re selected for their ease of feeding, their temperaments. They’re been bred in captivity for 10 generations.”
Of course, domestication doesn’t mean no regulation - after all, in most places you have to license and vaccinate your dogs. Barker points approvingly to Florida’s approach: new laws require the giant species of snakes to be microchipped so that, if released, the owner can be identified and penalized.
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RE: Pet Talk: Snake laws can be squirmy
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by Cro on May 20, 2008
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Linda Friar of Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Park says the problem there has been increasing: in 1993, they found only about 27 of these snakes, but in 2007 the number was 250, and the educated guess is that “for every one we find, they are 10 more.”
Hummmmm.....
If the USFWS found 250 Burmese Pythons in 2007, and Linda Friar of the USFWS estimates from that that there are 2500 of them out there, how come "Skippy" of the USFWS of the same park says there are 30,000 ????????
Anyone want to bet that Skippy was not at the top of his High School math class ????? Hey, whats a decimal point or two ??????
Someone in Florida press this issue between these two different USFWS folks. Find a news reporter. Find out just how qualified Ms Linda Friar is to make her statement. Skippy is wrong, and I want to see it proven.
I want to see the research that Skippy has done to determine 30,000 pythons are out there after finding 250 in a year !
Best Regards JohnZ
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