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RosyBoaStore
at Mon Mar 29 22:32:51 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by RosyBoaStore ]
BID TO CURB POACHING
State requires electronic IDs for reptile pets
Monday, March 29, 2004
Geoff Dutton
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
FRED SQUILLANTE | DISPATCH
The syringe used to inject a microchip could harm a small snake such as this albino black rat snake, breeder Terry Wilkins says.
Think of it as a high-tech ID tag for snakes and turtles.
In an effort to protect Ohio’s native cold-blooded animals from pet-industry poaching, state wildlife officials now are requiring captive reptiles to be injected with a microchip "tag."
That includes snakes and turtles kept in bedroom aquariums as well as those sold in pet stores.
Ohio is apparently the first state to impose such a regulation, and so far it’s proving easier to poke a squirming snake with a needle than it is to tame Terry Wilkins.
Wilkins, a Columbus pet-store owner with a history of wrestling crocodiles and fighting authorities, said the electronic tagging is cruel and dangerous for the animals.
"No one’s going to force me to tor- ture and kill my animals," said Wilkins, owner of Captive Born Reptiles, 2500 Morse Rd.
The state intends to try, and rejects any claims of cruelty.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources required tagging in 2000, but only began aggressively enforcing it last summer. The state cited 49 people last year for not tagging and other violations.
Most paid fines and tagged their animals. Not Wilkins, who faces a list of charges.
"Obviously he has disagreements with this issue that we’re happy to settle in court as soon as possible," said Jim Quinlivan, law-enforcement supervisor for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. "No individual is exempt or above the law."
PIT (personal integrated transponders) tagging, he added, "is endorsed by the scientific and research community."
Ohio’s reptiles and amphibians, Wilkins and state wildlife officials agree, are dying off at an alarming rate because of habitat destruction, pollution and pet-industry poaching.
At monthly reptile shows in Columbus and elsewhere, collectors and breeders sell everything from box turtles to garter snakes. Ohio residents can get permits to breed wild reptiles and sell their offspring, but can’t sell native wild animals.
State officials adopted the tagging and licensing regulations to aid enforcement.
PIT tagging is "doable and should be done," said Allen Salzberg, editor of HerpDigest, an online newsletter. "Ohio is doing what others should be doing."
Indiana requires snake breeders but not all native reptile owners to tag their animals.
A microchip about twice the size of a grain of rice is injected into the body of the snake or turtle. Each microchip has a bar code that can be scanned by running a hand-held device over the outside of the animal’s body.
The bar code is used by the state to distinguish snakes that are legally obtained or bred from those poached from the wild. The state’s Wildlife Division sells syringes and PIT tags for $10 each.
Proponents attribute complaints to profiteers who are concerned about money, not animal welfare.
Breeders and enthusiasts, in turn, say it’s the state that is motivated by money — the licensing and tagging fees.
Though commonly used by wildlife researchers, PIT tag opponents cite several concerns. The tags are required for snakes that are at least 18 inches long. The problem, they say, is that many of these snakes are skinnier than a pencil.
The manufacturer recommends an experienced person inject the tag, but snake owners say veterinarians are reluctant to stick the large needle in small animals.
"It’s impossible to find a vet who will do it for you," said Michael Jolliff, a Marion snake breeder who was cited by the state last year.
He blames tagging for killing several of his snakes.
"You’re talking about a snake smaller around than your pinky finger."
Wilkins, 49, got interested in reptiles when he was a boy in Worthington and caught snakes and frogs along Morse Road in the 1960s.
In high school, he traveled through Mexico for two months to catch boa constrictors, turtles, scorpions and crocodiles.
He returned with a collection of animals for breeding. In 1994, he opened his pet store and still travels the world catching reptiles.
Today, his store features tanks of African tortoises, 15- foot snakes and alligators.
Wilkins sells only animals born in captivity, adding that wild-caught animals adapt poorly to life in an aquarium and aren’t suitable for pets.
He was intrigued by the possibilities of PIT tagging, especially for breeding research. But he said the needle and tag are too large, especially for an 18-inch snake or 4-inch turtle.
He doesn’t shy from a fight. When he moved from Worthington to Pickerington in 1990, the 200 snakes he kept at home prompted a lawsuit, criminal charges and the enactment of a "dangerous animals" city ordinance that banned many snakes.
Wilkins fought it in court and the ordinance eventually was declared unconstitutional.
"I’ve known Terry 20 or 25 years. We’ve worked together. I’ve always had a lot of respect" for him, said Doug Wynn, a Westerville North High School teacher and a snake researcher who nevertheless plans to testify in favor of tagging at Wilkins’ court hearing next month.
"Let’s just say he’s very independent."
A Columbus Zoo vet also is scheduled to testify against Wilkins.
"Every animal they find," Wilkins said, "they’re ensuring the animal’s death by implanting the PIT tag."
gdutton@dispatch.com
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Here's the article - RosyBoaStore, Mon Mar 29 22:32:51 2004