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webwheeler
at Mon Jul 6 21:10:38 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by webwheeler ]
TAMPA TRIBUNE (Florida) 06 July 09 New python-banning law could come from girl's death (Peter Bernard)
For U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, last week's strangulation death of 2-year-old Sumter County girl by a Burmese python was the last straw.
He is proposing legislation that would prohibit people from bringing snakes like that into the United States, or transporting them across state lines. The Florida senator says a minor tweak in current law is all that is needed.
"We can stop the importation by changing this from being a species that is allowed to be imported into a species that is injurious," said Nelson.
On July 1, an 8 1/2 foot python owned by 32-year-old Charles Darnell escaped its enclosure and made it way to Shiunna Hare's crib. Sumter County officials say the little girl died after being bitten and strangled by the pet snake.
Nelson says Florida's current registration and microchip requirement is not enough. He points to the Florida Everglades, where thousands of pythons are estimated to live, as proof the problem is out of control.
"When you have from 150,000 to 180,000 of these snakes just in the Everglades National Park, you can see that the ecological balance of Mother Nature is definitely being upset," said Nelson. He says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has been studying the problem for more than two years. He says it's time to act before an unsuspecting tourist is attacked.
The legislation is in committee now, and Nelson hopes it passes quickly.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jul/06/new-python-banning-law-could-come-girls-death/news-breaking/
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 New python-banning law could come from.. - webwheeler, Mon Jul 6 21:10:38 2009
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