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ABC (Tampa Bay, Florida) 22 August 03 Residents hope to oust neighbor, or at least his snakes - Neighbors were not pleased to learn about the poisonous snakes in Anderson's mobile home.
Town 'N Country: Some Town 'N Country residents are biting back at a neighbor who lives in what they call a snake pit.
Russ Anderson is keeping 26 venomous snakes in his Town 'N Country mobile home that he shares with his family. He was actually bitten by one last weekend and is still in the hospital.
Thursday night, his neighbors banded together for a closed meeting. Most said they want the snake handler out of their neighborhood for good.
"I feel sorry for the guy because he got bit, but still, he should have respect for other people and not have them in the park," Carl Inlow said.
"I don't like snakes," another neighbor added.
The community requires residents to register their pets, and prohibits pit bulls and rottweilers. Now, management is preparing a letter for every one of the residents that says if they have any of the snakes, or any other pet that's not registered, they must get rid of them or face eviction.
Residents hope to oust neighbor, or at least his snakes

>>ABC (Tampa Bay, Florida) 22 August 03 Residents hope to oust neighbor, or at least his snakes -
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"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

>>ABC (Tampa Bay, Florida) 22 August 03 Residents hope to oust neighbor, or at least his snakes -
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"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

Here we go due to this incident we may all face the piper.
state reps are considering banning hot reptiles from residenial hoods in florida. now who will we hold responsible?
The news people for blowing it out of purportion.
or the victin if the bite.
or is it our fault for just being here?
you got people mad at each other over this and is it right.
any opinions?
bud

That is totally BS. He had all the proper permits. Basically what I would do is go tell my neighbors to go F*** themselves. I really dont believe that they will ban them in residental neighborhoods just because no escapes happened and Fish and Game deemed his facility totally safe. This is why us hotkeepers in Florida need to be careful and not to bring any unwanted media attention to us.

Joe

Being that the state has a permit system, they'll already know who you are, where you live, and what animals you keep. How convenient for them to already have all the info. Wouldn't be too far fetched being that they just had a 2000% percent increase in their permits (wasn't it like $5 - $120 or something?).

If there is truth to this, I sure hope that it is fought vigourously. I don't live in FL, but I feel sorry for those that do if such a thing is tried.

The rise in cost went from $5 to $100. Living in an area zoned AG/RES, which allows livestock, etc., I should not be affected. That doesn't make the change right, however. Like was already said, the fellow was in compliance with all the rules & regs & put nobody else at risk. Mob rule.

~~Greg~~

Actually there are a lot of neighborhoods and housing areas that have covenants of agreement that homeowners (and renters) sign without even thinking about it.
Somewhere buried in the fine print of the covenants will be something about keeping injurious wildlife, livestock, etc.
These neighborhood rules are nothing new. For as long as anyone has been able to rent a plot of land to squat on, there has been a list of rules that will allow the renter to kick out the rentee. All perfectly legal. Didn't say it was morally right, just that it is legal.
Munching On Some Muenster,
The Mouse In The House

check out what the state rep says!
This has a lot of paranoia in it.
list of characters in this video
ray martienlez and d.parker and assorted stand ins rated pg.
prepare for rights reductions.
Fish and game has been cool in this but it is out of their hands.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/stories/2003/08/030819snakebite.shtml
Link

Here's a copy of the letter I sent...

Mr. Henriquez,
You were recently quoted on ABC regarding the unfortunate incident involving the mamba bite that occurred in Tampa. You stated that perhaps there should be state laws to make it illegal for venomous snakes to be kept in residential neighborhoods. You went on to compare this to people being forced to put up pool fences.
I am curious whether you are aware of the current laws regarding the keeping of venomous reptiles in the state of FL. FL has very sensible laws already in place that require venomous keepers to have 1,000 documented hours of handling experience prior to owning a venomous reptile. Before a person can be issued a venomous permit, their homes are inspected by fish and wildlife officers to insure that their cages and facilities are secure and escape proof. Cages must be kept locked at all times and venomous keepers are subject to surprise inspections at any time to insure that they are complying with these restrictions. Many other states have no laws at all regarding the keeping of venomous reptiles and FL is considered by many to have some of the most logical restrictions already in place.
This particular keeper had an unfortunate accident but it is important to note that even after he was bitten, this keeper made sure to secure this animal before seeking medical attention. This responsible action is protocol among venomous keepers and is probably why this keeper suffered more than one bite.
I understand that when an accident happens people look for someone to blame. I urge you to review the laws that are already in place and speak with fish and wildlife officers before you pursue additional laws that are oppressive and not necessary.
Thank you for your time,
Chris Raden

Chris,

Nicely put. I respectfully suggest that if anybody else engages in an e-mail campaign, PLEASE mimick Chris's tone and don't be antagonistic or vindictive. That won't help.

Regards,
Jeff Nichols

It seems like the reportermay have taken him out of context. Here is his reply to my email.

Dear Mr. Raden,

I couldnt agree more. I was really caught flat-footed for the interview and they left out the part in which I expressed that existing laws may actually be reasonable. I unfortunatley had not reviewed them at that point. I did say that I thought that if such laws did not exist or were inadequate that it was legitimate for the state to take look. That is the part that was aired. I dont intend to propose any new regulation.

Thank you for your interest and good advice,
Rep. Bob Henriquez

Cool, good news.

Good going the news was trying to twist the facts and make their story better than it was.
vultures feeding on somebodys misfourtune.
bud

N/P

I feel that florida might just do away with the whole system and just say no "VENOMOUS" This is a state that I would love to move to but because of the laws there would be no way I would go. I also feel bad for florid folk this just isn't a good thing and makes fish and wildlife look bad. And they sure hate that. I also blame the newspapers thwy can just never help us and look from our side that things like this happen when you have 26 snakes. But on another hand a trailer is not a place for a mamba you need lots of room to work with them and I wonder how big his hot room really was. Just my 2 cents

I may be in the minority on this but I actually don't mind FL's current laws regarding venomous. The 1,000 hours are a lot of work but it keeps people from just making a spontaneous decision to keep hot herps without doing their homework. While working with friend's collections to get my hours, I was exposed to a lot of incredible venomous reptiles and had the opportunity to soak up some knowledge from some experienced keepers. I learned a lot of things that would have taken me years and years to learn on my own.
Is 1,000 hours an excessive requirement for keeping a gila....maybe, but it's probably an insufficient amount of time for someone to feel entirely comfortable working with mambas, taipans, king cobras, etc. I guess that's where patience and good sense comes into play.
Chris