NEWS-PRESS (Fort Myers, Florida) 12 February 07 Exotic pet regulations a good move
Owners face new state rules to prevent dumping of critters into the wild.
The good snake is a corn snake, photographed by Jason Hann of North Fort Myers in Big Cypress Swamp in 2005; the bad snake is a 9-foot-long white python featured in a local pet store.
The good lizard is a common Green Anole; the bad lizard a Nile monitor lizard, captured in Cape Coral and euthanized on the spot.
The good snake and the good lizard are so labeled because they are natives of our part of Florida and are an accepted part of the natural world.
The bad snake and the bad lizard are good denizens of their native lands, but are called bad here not because they are ugly or dangerous or even ill-mannered. They are bad because they are not natives of Florida and can do considerable damage when released in the wild.
Unlike the very real problem of human illegal immigration which Congress can’t seem to solve, the problem of the importation and illegal dumping of exotic reptiles and other captive wildlife is being tackled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The problem with the critters is that people buy them as pets, get tired of them or are unable to care for them as they grow too large to manage and dump them in the wild.
In the Florida climes, they can get huge and become nuisances. Monitor lizards, for example, are overrunning sections of Cape Coral and Sanibel and pythons dumped in the Everglades grow so large they gobble up native animals. One even tried to swallow an alligator a while back. It died trying.
The state this week issued new regulations which tightens restrictions on owners of exotic pets, subjecting them to a fine or jail term for being irresponsible.
The rules range from requiring registration and microchips for some reptiles to having a “bite response plan” for poisonous snakes.
It is a good move.
While we understand that there are those among us who find big, bad snakes and ugly lizards desirable pets, those pet owners need to protect society and nature from the damage that can be done by such critters when they are on the loose.
New Rules
People owning a python, green anaconda or Nile monitor lizard will be required to:
• Obtain a permit and microchip.
• Be able to answer questions about reptile care.
• House the reptiles in escape-proof cages.
• Have a “bite response plan” for venomous snakes.
Violations can lead to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.
Exotic pet regulations a good move