Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need some help, my wife and I have been working for the last 4 months to try to get our snakes allowed in the village of bonduel wi, however the board has an ordinance stating that no snake is allow to be over 2 ft and it has to be indigenous to the state. I am trying to form a committee of professionals to speak on this issue, however the local high school teachers are not responding and the local vet has said they have not interest in this issue. Needless to say we are coming down to the time when the village should be voting on this issue (sep 9)and right now I have a letter coming form the village attorney say he thinks 6 feet is to large of an animal for any community and that he does not see any reason for a change (which is funny because his office is located in a city with no ordinances against snakes and he has a music store within a block of his office a ball python and a corn snake... I wonder if he feels safe at work). And on top of that I have 2 out of the six or 8 board members who will not even look at a picture of a snake. My wife and I are trying to handle this as professional as we can so any solid document in regards to snakes and public safety would be greatly appreciated.

Also if anyone knows of some professional people who may be able to help speak on this matter that are not too far away I will take all the help I can get.

Thanks,
Matt

Oh and my request is that the board change their ordinance from what it is to allowing 6 ft max as long as it is housed in an enclosure (no letting snakes run loose in the house).

Wow, this is insanity! Seems like they are putting the burden on you to prove that a 4 foot snake is not dangerous???? And a maximum of 2 feet???? I wish I had some suggestions, but what they are asking is unreasonable; it defies basic logic.

The burden should be on them to justify their proposed regulations.

Maybe you could suggest that they come to this forum to ask questions. Maybe you could arrange for some of the board members to actually see a ball python or a boa in person.

Unreal.

I'd move.

OR buy a bunch of rottweillers.

>>I'd move.
>>
>>
>>OR buy a bunch of rottweillers.

You mean you don't think my 30" rainbow boa is more dangerous than a rottweiller???

In all seriousness, imo we need to fight (tactfully, of course) crap like this, not run away from it. At some point there will be nowhere left to move...

they have a ban on them too.

As ridiculous as it is for the burden of proof to be on you to prove a negative, maybe you can:

1) Show some pictures/videos of people doing educational presentations. I have some pics from several presentations that
I and others have done, feel free to PM me if you want them. These pictures include 8 year olds interacting with snakes much larger than 2 feet long.

2) Politely tell them there are no documents on public safety regarding 6 foot non-venomous snakes for a good reason... they don't present any danger to the public. Even giant constrictors present no danger to the general public. There has NEVER been an attack on a human by a giant constrictor outside the constrictor owner's household. And even in a household with a large constrictor, the likelihood of anyone (including the owner) getting seriously hurt/killed is probably one in a few million. Using public safety as justification for these laws is disgraceful and so unbelievably ignorant it's even hard for me to believe it even has to be discussed.

3) Arrange a presentation for the board members. Sounds like they are completely ignorant. If they refuse to go, maybe you could use that to embarrass them. At some point we have to start playing hardball with these idiots.

Anyway, good luck, feel free to PM me if you'd like to discuss further. I think it's paramount that we fight this type of stupid local legislation, since it could kill the entire hobby.

Thanks,
Ed

Last I'd heard this was a free country.

I did not know person taste, social morays, and cultural biases were were part of the legislative agenda.

Disguising the issue with the moniker of public safety doesn't make it right.

I thought the Founding Fathers placed protections against such blatant discrimination in our Constitution.

Am I wrong?

jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

Start breeding pigmy rattlers?

I thought about ordering a whole boat load of hognoses form bhb just to tick them off, I could possibly get a way with is little as these people know about snakes; however, I think we need to stand our ground and fight as professionally as possible, even if our crowd is the least of professionals. These guys tried to come after me for breeding rats already too (that was a two month fight and then they folded), but in all honesty as said already, if no one fights for the little towns this hobby will wind up going underground just like we are selling drugs or something. It is sad to think but in alreality, everyone got fired up over hr669 (I made call and wrote letters too) but what good does it do if bans like this sweep over small towns one by one. In my research I have already found another city in Wi who has an all out ban on snakes for no reason at all; however, they are considering revising it since I talked to them last, and I will try to help them in that process but my time is very limited. I am a full time welder and a part time children's pastor, on top of a major hobbiest for snakes!!! I love my balls and in the next year I hope to get some hogs to, and then... you know how it goes.

matt

Move. It all has to do with the tax base. Deprive them of their operating capital. Money talks. It is the bottom line.
Just as municipalities are begging for economic growth and encouraging people into their areas, in order to increase the revenue side of their balance sheets, they pull unnecessary bonehead legislation like this out of their asses, shooting themselves in the foot.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

Get a copy of the ordinance and determine its objective, i.e public safety, environmental concerns, public morality, etc.

The objective must be within the legislative powers of the council to achieve, and the means to achieve the objective should not be overly broad if less restrictive measures would work, otherwise, a court challenge would be likely to succeed and would make the council look very bad.

If public safety is the concern, get some statistics to prove that the snakes you want to keep have been kept safely for many years in many other jurisdictions and ask that the council present evidence to the contrary if they still disagree with your position.

You could also seek some help from USARK and from PIJAC.