Reptile & Amphibian Forums

NECN/WTNH) - People in Connecticut who own illegal exotic pets got a chance to turn them in today, no questions asked.

The State Department of Environmental Protection held its first exotic amnesty day today at the Bridgeport Zoo.

Owners turned over at least 135 animals, most of them exotic reptiles.

The collection included 15 boa constrictors, 15 pythons, 7 alligators, a small monkey, a rattlesnake and an anaconda.

Five months ago, Charla Nash was mauled when her friend's 200 pound chimpanzee escaped in Stamford.

It's illegal to own large, potentially dangerous wild animals in Connecticut.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/07/25/CT-exotic-pet-owners-get-day/1248571758.html

I thought that the ban that went through did not apply to boas, pythons, alligators, or venomous snakes. I thought the ban was reworded to include only large mammals and primates. Is this a slight media twist?
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Bill
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1.0 Banded Cal King
0.1 Striped Cal King
0.1 Aberrant Cal King
0.1 Chihuahua Mountain King
1.0 Arizona Mountain King
1.0 Anery Jurassic Milk
1.0 Nelson's/Corn snake hybrid
0.0.1 Viper Boa
0.0.1 South Florida Swamp Snake
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
2.3 African Dwarf Frogs
0.0.1 Alligator Snapping Turtle
0.0.1 Florida Snapping Turtle
0.0.1 Loggerhead Musk Turtle
0.0.1 Common Musk Turtle
0.0.2 Fly River Turtle

I don't know the exact wording of CT law, but you can't get a burm or retic in a pet store here any more. Crocodilians were already banned before this latest bit of legislation. Frankly, a lot of what was in that one was a reiteration of what was already effectively illegal in CT.

In any case, there are certainly plenty of folks who'd just as soon nobody has reptiles in their home, and they'd certainly pat themselves on the back for a job well done if such things as "amnesty days", during which "dangerous, exotic reptiles" are taken off the streets got publicized. You'd think it was a bunch of AK-47s and a couple of tons of cocaine that got turned in!

~Bruce, in CT but not a legal authority

>>I thought that the ban that went through did not apply to boas, pythons, alligators, or venomous snakes. I thought the ban was reworded to include only large mammals and primates. Is this a slight media twist?

at petstores.
Slither and Swim in West Haven
Petland Discounts in Southbury
Guppies to Puppies in Cromwell
and so on.

They still sell them it's just that they are not in every petstore like they used to be.