WNBC (New York, New York) 04 August 06 Top Snake Scientist Said He Didn't Illegally Sell Boa

Morristown, NJ.: The man in charge of the Liberty Science Center's reptile and amphibian collection is asking a judge to throw out a fine he received for selling a snake.

Danny Mendez, a well-known snake specialist and president of the New Jersey Herpetology Society, told a state Superior Court judge Thursday that he was merely selling one snake in his personal collection for the same price he paid for it two years earlier -- not going into a snake-selling business.

In New Jersey, it's illegal to retail reptiles without a pet shop license, but licensed hobbyists can sell serpents from their own collections.

In January 2005, Mendez sold a yellow Amazon tree boa for $250 to an undercover state Division of Fish and Wildlife conservation officer. He was convicted of the offense in December by a municipal judge and fined $750.

Authorities said his Web site, Urbanjungles.com was a snake-selling site. He says that's not true, that it gave snake information, though it had links to retail sites.
Top Snake Scientist Said He Didn't Illegally Sell Boa

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