Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It has come to my attention that several dealers and shop owners were contacted by TXP&W concerning legislation that is brewing to prohibit exotic venomous and crocodilians in TX. The crocodilian species mentioned specifically was Crocodylus niloticus. They were all told that this was a heads up and to get rid of these animals if possesed because there would be no grandfathering, or permits issued, all possessed after said legislation was passed would be confiscated.......I have calls and e-mails into TP&W currently to get the official take on this subject matter, and will post the results of those inquiries. The problem is the individuals that this comes from are reputable, so we may have some serious issues soon in TX. Supposedly the legislation in question is an adendum hidden at the end of a health bill being introduced, and the niles are being attacked as posssible invasive species after queries to TP&W by a south TX resident wanting to farm them commercially.
Point is we need to contact our legislators, law makers and regional offices of TP&W to evaluate this threat and prohibit it from passing if this is indeed coming down the pike.
Just a heads up to all.
RCampbell

Interesting that the wording "exotic venomous" was used, meaning that the damn rattlesnake hunts would not be affected...

As for the rest of the legislation, it figures that its tacked on the end of some sort of "health" bill. Hope this does NOT pass. Texas residents...GET ON THE BALL!!!

I promised to post any correspondence, and here is the official word from Texas parks to me via e-mail.....
Mr. Campbell;

Your email was forwarded to my staff and me for response.

We're not aware of any proposed laws affecting the species you've mentioned. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department doesn't have the authority to regulate non-indigenous wildlife, so there's nothing TPWD could do about exotic venomous snakes or any crocodilian other than the American Alligator. And TPWD is not proposing any restrictions of native venomous snakes or alligators.

We did create a regulation 4 years ago that requires a person to have a permit if they collect certain nongame species for commercial purposes - that regulation includes native venomous snakes. (See TPWD Administrative Code 65.325-65.332 @ http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=5&ti=31&pt=2&ch=65&sch=O&rl=Y)

I had a similar phone call along the same lines a few weeks ago, from someone in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area indicating they were told it was against the law to sell venomous snakes. I couldn't find any basis for the rumor.

There's a slim possibility that the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture or a local unit of govt. is proposing/has proposed something along those lines that we wouldn't know about (the USDA regulates some aspects on interstate trade in wildlife). But again, I haven't heard anything specific.

John Herron
Program Director, Wildlife Diversity
Texas Parks and Wildlife

I am still digging into this and will keep all posted...

This is the next email I have recieved.....obviously we are not out of the woods in TX yet, something is up, State department of Agriculture perhaps? I don't know but as promised will keep all posted to what's going on.....
Mr. Campbell;

Can you give any more details on stores, dates, etc.?

After receiving your email, I double-checked things with my Law Enforcement counterpart - he did indicate that one of our game wardens accompanied a USDA official in a recent visit to a pet store that was being investigated for inadequate facilities. He was tagging along to see if there were any violations of our commercial nongame regulations; the facility issue was a USDA rule and their enforcement concern.

So my impression is that, while one of our game wardens may have visited one or more Austin pet stores, if there's anything pending concerning exotic herps, it might relate to something the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture inspector said. There are several agencies that have potential jurisdiction concerning exotic pets - it's hard to keep us all straight and probably adds to the confusion when we show up at a facility together.

I know that' s not much more help than my initial email. But I can assure you there aren't any new rules coming from Texas Parks and Wildlife.
John Herron
Program Director, Wildlife Diversity
Texas Parks and Wildlife

Here is the latest correspondance...I had asked for specific contact information; specifically the USDA officer they stated was involved..and yet the story changes subtly again...
I will keep all posted as promised...

Mr. Campbell;

I haven't been able to get the specific contact you requested.

I visited with our game warden who was involved in visits to Austin pet stores this past month. He indicated it was FDA (Food and Drug Administration) staff that were visiting pet stores, looking for compliance with federal regulations concerning sale of turtles (I guess even we get confused about which federal agency is involved). He accompanied them on a few visits to see if folks selling native wildlife species had the proper Texas Parks and Wildlife permit.

He indicated there wasn't any discussion about changing laws, venemous snakes, etc., though he indicated that a pet store that sells a number of venomous snakes did get in trouble for not meeting animal care requirements. I understand that the situation was such that the store was closed and the animals transferred to caretakers. He said he would guess that it would be easy for 'the grapevine' to get the story twisted with folks assuming it was because of the venomous snakes that there was a problem.

Since its a pending case, I don't have access to the detailed information.

Best contact info I could come up with is

Food and Drug Administration
DALLAS DISTRICT
3032 Bryan Street
Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 655-5315

John Herron
Program Director, Wildlife Diversity
Texas Parks and Wildlife