They have been considering this because several of these species have become established as invasive in FL and there is the real prospect of them spreading. In particular, African Rock Pythons and Burmese Pythons. How the fuck does this happen, you ask? Well, it is a combination of things. Hurricane Andrew wiped out several import warehousing facilities and allowed escape into the everglades. These animals are also widely available for purchase by just about anyone, and... well... most of them cannot take care of a 20 foot snake for multiple decades and the animal either escapes or gets released at some point.
Well... the reptile keeping hobbyist community has been mad as hell for a while... but it seems the Fish and Wildlife Service went ahead and actually did it.
So... well... to say the least a lot of snake keepers are MAD. StrongMad, actually. But you know what, and I say this as someone who has a small personal reptile and amphibian zoo... Watch Me Care.U.S. bans imports of 4 exotic snake species
The United States is banning the importation of four species of snakes and their eggs, the Interior Department announced Tuesday.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the ban -- which covers the Burmese python, the northern and southern African pythons, and the yellow anaconda -- at a news conference at Everglades National Park in South Florida, where non-native snakes have become a serious problem.
Park officials called the announcement a great first step for the park's ecosystem.
"We are very happy to see this finally in place," said park spokeswoman Linda Friar. "The python has continued to be an increasing challenge in management and we are hoping this will help us get a better handle on this species."
The biggest threat to the park is the non-native Burmese python. It is believed that the snakes were originally pets that found their way into the park. The Everglades, known as the river of grass, is a vast area with a climate perfect for the pythons to hide and breed. And breed they do: The largest clutch found in the Everglades was 83 eggs.
"We think there are tens of thousands of snakes (in the park)," said Friar. The snakes prey on native wildlife such as the endangered Key Largo wood rat and the endangered wood stork. The largest prey, Friar said, was a 76-pound deer that was found in the stomach of a 16-foot python a few months ago.
The ban will not affect people who currently own these four species of snakes, other than prohibiting the transportation or selling of the animals across state lines.
The ban should be in place by the end of March, when the snakes will be included under the Lacey Act. The act is designed to stop illegal trafficking of specified wildlife, fish and plants. A felony violation of the Lacey Act can bring a five-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.
Although the ban should put a stop to additional pythons entering the country, officials say it will not solve the snake problem in the Everglades. "We still have to look at improved management and removal to better protect our habitat," Friar said.
1) Most of these people should not have these animals in the first place. They are bought on impulse because the babies for sale are absolutely adorable and very pretty, but they grow into snakes that reach upwards of 7 meters in length, need to be fed pigs, can easily kill you by accident, and are usually rather ill-tempered. Larger individuals have been known to escape and kill small children. Idiots get drunk, mess with the snake alone, and end up being found dead after the smell starts bothering the neighbors. Hell, the head of my department was working in a zoo and got constricted to death. He was clinically dead, but the snake let go and his heart restarted on its own... and he knew what he was doing. So we have a concern for both animal welfare (because these animals are often treated poorly) and human health.
If you want one, and can prove you can keep one, permitting is possible. Even then, local breeders exist in most states. You can still get one if you are willing to look... but prices go up. Effectively a 100 dollar snake someone can buy on impulse at a herp convention will have a massively increased price tag, which can only be a good thing.
2) These animals ARE invasive in FL. Some of them, like the Rock Python can easily become established elsewhere because their climate tolerances are more... generalist. You do NOT want these things invasive, you really dont.
3) The hobbyist community has been fending off government threats of adding these animals to the Lacey Act for at least a decade with the claim that they will self-police... and they have not fucking done it. They bitch about violations of their "right" to keep an animal in captivity, when in reality it is a privilege that has responsibilities attached, and they have abrogated those responsibilities for decades. It is high time that the Fish and Wildlife Service finally slapped the community in the face. Maybe then they would get their heads out of their collective ass.
And yes, that is my professional opinion.
