I think something should be written up and taken to politicians. If we come to them with a plan before it is an issue, it can protect the future.



I would be in favor of:



-Federal legislation requiring a federal permit for keeping venomous snakes

-This permit is required for ALL keepers and laws at state and local (town, county, etc) laws would of course need to still be followed

-This permit would NOT exempt those grandfathered in NOR would it allow for those already keeping venomous snakes to automatically obtain the permit

-This permit WOULD be funded heavily by application and renewal fees

-This permit would require a bi-annual checking of the facility containing the snakes, which could be done by any law enforcement officer. This would be a simple checklist system and would not be ideal to be checked by someone who is not highly qualified in the field...but the checklist would make it cheaper to manage and would still keep people up to date on their protocols

-This permit WOULD require all applicants to have applications signed by a certified professional in the field (zoo, nature center, museum, liscensed exhibitor, whatever/who ever as long as they undergo a certification required for this part of the permit). This would also allow each of these facilities or individuals to place their own policies for obtaining a signature.

-This permit would require local hospitals be given an updated list of species kept and what the treatment is for each species, signed by a professional in the herpetological field (PhD?) AND medical field (md). (someone else can insert how AV would best be handled)



Among the checklist would be...



Just some quick thoughts

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