Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just found out from FWC about this. Have any other Floridians heard? Buddy.

Has it actually gone through? Last month I emailed Jeb's office and his assistant responded saying that they were taking into consideration the emails being sent to them. Hopefully the word can get out and let Jeb know that there are people that are not happy with the change. Raising the fee from 5 to 100 is simply outrageous and certainly will result in more people keeping hots illegally. No permit to own my gun but I need one for my snakes??????????

I called today to see why I had not received my renewal notice and they said changing the paperwork to reflect the new rates is why it is delayed.

We just renewed ours within the last 3 weeks and have recieved them back already...I'm sure next year will see the new rate hike and personally I dont mind it at all..and we have two in our household so thats 200.00 bucks for us...most people are quick to drop more than that on one snake but complain when the Game commission needs the funds for more inspectors(they've been really short..imagine all the places they have to visit...including the dealers/zoo...etc) Just ask the people in states/areas where they are banned what they would pay to just be able to have a permit system....

Sierra

It's $100 per license, not per snake. I agree with a rate increase but to go from $5 to $100 is ridiculous. I also agree with Max, this will only serve to discourage people from seeking the license. People will still keep the snakes without the license & that means the state isn't regulating anything.

I have my Fl License to keep my venomous.
My husband has his license as well.
Thats two in our household and we each have our own animals.(two-hundred per year not for two snakes) Sorry if I sounded as if it was per snake or something...anyhow, if someone is going to do something illegal the $100.00 wont stop them...even for $5 they just wont put in the 1000 hours(which is the hard part to getting your license not a measly 100 bucks)....

I agree $5.oo to $100.00 is quite a jump,but, if the state is making more money off of venomous permits, the longer it is likely to continue renewing them and issuing them.
I remember joking with the fWC officer who came to inspect for my
permit that he just drove almost an hour(from st augustine to just south of daytona) for a $5.00 permit inspection,very efficent.
Besides I doubt the governer is very worried about losing the "venomous reptile community vote" so why not jerk us around.
Ryan,

Linda Harrison drove all the way down to New smyrna for one of our inspections then had other places to see that day...its crazy,how thin they are spread.. by the way she is still in the inspections division, and does a great job with such limited resources....put yourselves in thier shoes, I'd want more help too!

Thats Cool, I thought I was the only one in New Smyrna Bch with hots,
The guy that did my first inspection was Bruce Cockcroft, he checked every cage for locks,I have a separate building on my property for my snakes, he made sure both doors on that locked.grilled me for about half an hour,went over all the letters of recommendation and hours stuff,very methodically.
he was pretty funny too,after the interrogation he jokingly asked whether I wanted venomous snakes because I was really bored or completely insane. I'm still pondering that one years later.
Ryan,
Ryan.mccullah@pasclaims.com

like you said checking door thresholds height going over paperwork etc...but its worth it and this is our nineth year with our Licenses..no complaints here....

I understood what you said ,it was clear as day,dont apologize to---- i think it was to cheap for to long...should be 1000

My permit is not due until July. Maybe the hike goes into effect then. There is the possibility that the lady I spoke to at FWC was mistaken I certainly hope so. Buddy.

I worry that a hike like this will discourage people from obtaining the permit and reduce the amount of people who legally keep hots in Florida. From this rate increase (and the fact I was not ever contacted) it appears that we as a group are not very well represented. And the less people who keep them the less we have a voice as a group. I do not know of any other type of government rate increases that would be raised so quickly, by over 20 times, without some sort of notice to the people who are affected. I also understand the argument that "they" need the money, but that is true for the department as a whole. I would imagine that illegal fishing, hunting, dog licensing, and offroading cause much more problems than the people who keep hots yet the comparable permit rates compared with resources needed to enforce are not comparable. In addition the money to enforce the laws could be and should be raised by implementing higher fines against people breaking game and fish rules/laws.....why punish the people who are law abiding and paying the applicable fee?

Call me a cynic, but it appears we are an easy target.

I do think "they do need the money"..really..and I dont enjoy being the one to pay for it but we cant expect the non keepers to pay it with tax dollars either(the gov. has enough ways of spending our money...LOL)...and you'll soon see people posting here about to much gov. and how we should all be able to do whatever we please...blah..blah... blah
Anyhow, In the I dont mind paying the extra...it beats not having hots at all...a fate which some keepers have already suffered...I'd easily pay 1000.00 or more for the license to enjoy my "hot hobby"..If we can spent money on our "collections" without a thought...why not pay to maintain a permit/license system?

Sierra

While I personally don't have a problem paying for the permit myself, I completely disagree with you logic here. The permit system is not for OUR benefit, it is for the benefit of the general public and so I also can't argue with anyone who says they should cover the costs.

When someone commits murder the public pays for thier lawyer, housing, food and supervision, but honest hobbyists have to pay for someone to monitor them JUST IN CASE they do something wrong? If anything, the money ought to come from fines on people who break the law and not fees from people who don't.

Imagine the outcry if Forida charged $100 a year for a drivers license and required an anual driving test...

n/p

our taxes for a wide range of strange things(I'm being polite..LOL) so the only ones left to pay is us..the hot hobbiest. The license system would be shut down in less than 6 months if the reg folks had to pay for it with thier taxes, I imagine that most folks would love to see the total ban, they just cant seem to understand why we do what we do, let alone help to pay for it...However I do like your Idea of the fines and illegals paying for more of the total needed funds.

...that's not entirely true, since they have been paying for it all along (the current $5 a year fee certainly doesn't make a dent in the cost).

Of course like a lot of things, it would go pretty quickly if the average tax payer got an itemized bill every year...

And, I was speaking in terms of what SHOULD BE, not what would actually work...

alot of things should be...LOL...there shouldnt be so many nutballs keeping venomous...LOL...just read some of the posts in this forum...crazy stuff...I busted my butt to get my permit putting in 20-30 hours a month for almost 4 years...and I think thats the way it should be and even a very thorough written/practical exam after the hours are put in and before someone could get a license..sorta like my nursing license, it was quite expensive just to take the state test 300 bucks but hey a persons competance needs to be evaluated before maintaining venomous reptiles. again I'm gald we're discussing this rationally...my opinions are just that...I dont claim to be the worlds leading authority...just my thoughts, in the end what I think has little or no meaning...LOL...

My problem is that I don't keep venomous. I am a teacher and go out on snake calls. Sometimes the snakes are venomous. By the current laws I cannot legally remove a live venomous snake.
I may only move one or two venomous a year. I'm hoping the person I talked to was mistaken and that it will stay five$.

Ones like yours and other people who only do educational lectures. Especially, with native species. But I'm very sure the rate hike will be in effect next year.

Really it should have never been $5 in the first place, though. The program wasnt expected to grow as much as it has.