I believe you still have to have a permit, or else the person with the breeding colony would be at risk of violation, as well as yourself. The only legal way you would be able to get a massasauga would be from a person with a permit (after you get your permit) and a cb population, even with a permit I don't think ANY state allows s.c. catenatus to be taken from the wild, I could be wrong on that though.

You may be able to acquire an eastern from a state where they don't occur (Fl, Ga, etc..), however, I think most dealers won't mess with it because of the Lacey Act, and I don't think many can prove they weren't taken from the wild. If you lived in Fl and wamted one from someone in Fl, it wouldn't be a problem, but in OH, NY, PA, MI , and Ont, it will be. Basically, you have to prove that both of you are legal.

Here in NY, there are only two small pockets of massasauga populations, so the DEC is very particular to who they give there permits to, I know of a few that keep them legally.

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