EXAMINER-ENTERPRISE (Bartlesville, Oklahoma) 09 May 10 Citizen works to lift snake ban, city researching (Jessica Miller)
After a citizen recently told the Bartlesville City Council ball pythons are not dangerous and should not be banned, city staff are researching the snake breed.
Josh Tucker, who breeds and sells ball pythons, cited a section of Bartlesville’s Municipal Code that prohibits a number of snakes — including pythons — and asked the City Council on May 3 for an exemption.
City Manager Ed Gordon said Thursday that city staff is researching ball pythons. He said if research concludes the snakes are not dangerous, he suspects the breed will be removed from the city ban.
Tucker said ball pythons should not be banned because of their size and demeanor.
“In captivity, they’re considered good pets for their relatively small size and placid nature,” he said.
According to Tucker, ball pythons typically reach lengths of 3 1/2 feet, are the smallest python breed and tend to spook easily. Rather than strike, they “ball up,” he says.
Tucker said the federal government has a pending ban on large and dangerous constrictors and when it first came out, it also banned ball pythons.
Since then, Tucker said, the United States Association of Reptile Keepers educated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on ball pythons and why the snakes should not be included in the ban. Tucker said an amendment was made to the ban to only include constrictors and pythons over 6 feet in length.
According to Tucker, if a ball python escaped, it would not be able to survive an Oklahoma winter. He said the snakes are also not a threat to humans as they eat large mice and small rats.
Tucker told the council he received his business license through the State of Oklahoma as a licensed ball python breeder.
“When I attempted to get my license through the city (of Bartlesville) though, I was shocked to find out ball pythons were not allowed,” Tucker said.
Bartlesville Municipal Code defines “dangerous animals” as any animal other than domestic dogs and cats, which in the wild state is carnivorous or which because of its nature or physical makeup is capable of inflicting serious physical harm or death to human beings. The list of “dangerous animals” includes python snakes.
“That is not a ball python,” Tucker said Thursday, referring to ball pythons not being dangerous animals.
The code prohibits citizens from owning, keeping or harboring any dangerous animal in the city.
Tucker said Thursday he is still in limbo, waiting to see if the city will make any changes to code.
“I’m hoping that this gets resolved through the city fairly quickly,” Tucker said.
According to Tucker, he has about 40 ball pythons and sells them on the Internet. In light of the code, Tucker is not allowed to sell the snakes in Bartlesville but he would like to be able to sell them locally.
Citizen works to lift snake ban, city researching

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