Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As much as I have disagreed with Terry We agree on one thing that the venomous hobby is doomed to a ban situation within the next four years.
You can blame The hot dealers for selling them then shipping them outright illegaly or without the proper screening of the buyer.
You can also blame Some of the buyers for breaking local laws obtaining the hot snakes or improper caging or not having proper
training and antivenoms.
And of course the fools getting bit and then dumping all the care and bills on the public and draining the zoo keepers own stocks of antivenom.
Then they have the nerve to then sue the hospital if they had a complication from Their stupidity.
If I was a doc I would let the fools pay the price
rather than save their life only to be sued for it.
And don't forget the venomoiders!

So I have severed most ties to this unresponible hobby.
its easy to do just have ZERO TOLERANCE to any body that
breaks bends any of the laws its easy but you will find there is not to many dealers that are clean.
Have no dought its on its way we were warned!
it was a great hobby 20 years ago before the internet allowed any bloke to buy snakes at will.
Terry stated the feds were looking into this last year
he was not lieing he was actually trying to warn all of you to help.
I don't want to hear any whining about rights being taken away
nowhere does any law say you have the right to own a venomous snake. remember that!

later

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Bud

I wonder how many dealers will be put out of business if this passes? They may be part of the problem, but if the hobby does become "banned" wouldn't many of these breeders/dealers go out of business, making it hard for anyone who does have a license to obtain a snake "legally." More importantly though, how many snakes and other assorted venomous creatures will disapear because all the unlicensed private breeders will be forced to give up their hobby!

Off topic a bit, but where on the Internet would I find information on the laws in my State (West Virginia), and whom would I need to speak to about getting a license if I need it, or eventually when I may need one? I assume the DNR and Game & Fish commission? Thanks ahead of time!

Stupidity of owners of exotic animals.

Stupidity of the writer of the bill (it really doesn't make any sense, I'll sum it up and put a link).

Basically it says that you can't own any of the following reptiles:

Anything venomous.

Any crocildilians

Certain monitors (asiatic waters, black and white throats, niles, crocodile monitors, and I think there might have been another).

And so far, any and all boids....they say they are amending that now though, so that you can own any nonvenomous snake that doesn't normally grow to 14' in length.

The big thing that gets me, is the permit system they're putting in place. It only allows you to keep the animals you have for the remainder of its (their) life (lives). So basically, if this goes through, none of the species mentioned will be found in new york 20 years from now. Because of this, the bill also states that you cannot breed, sell/trade, etc. any of your banned reptiles. What are they going to do with the unpermitted or mistreated ones then? They can't place them in new homes and the zoos are already overflowing. There will basically be mass euthenasia. Also, what about the reptiles stores that sell large constrictors and monitors (and there are some here that do this responsibly)? If they can't manage to sell off their stock before the bill is put into place, they'll have probably between 10-30 giant snakes that they have to take care of and house for the rest of their lives (not many people can house and afford to feed that many), as well as that many large monitors. These stores are only equipped to hold these animals as babies and juveniles. I can already see the impact, because I know of one reptile shop near me that managed to get overstocked on burmese pythons, albino burmese, dumerils boas (which wouldn't be banned under the new laws...luckily the only boas that will be are green and yellow anacondas...if they ammend it), black throat monitors, and possibly carpet pythons....maybe even bearded dragons. All I'm going by is the amounts of adults I see of certain species consistently when I go to the store. Usually I see an abundance of each of the species mentioned, usually in rather small caging (like I said, only equipped to handle babies and juveniles, not subadults). This is bad planning on the owner's part, but it's just a small illustration of what will happen if the bill is passed (besides the bearded dragons, and hopefully the carpet pythons).

That's my view on the situation...here's the bill at hand:

http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A02684&sh=t

I urge everyone to call 1-518-474-8390 and state your opposition to bill A02684 (they will ask for your zip code, and i've heard they don't really care if you're a new york resident or not).

Also, you can email them and mail them here stating why the bill is a bad idea:

http://161.11.3.75/

I just feel strongly that something needs to be done about this terrible excuse for a bill. If it goes through, New York will be void of the reptiles mentioned in the next 20 years or so.

I also live in West Virgina, and i do believe that no permit is needed in West Virgina to own a venomous snake. I do not own any, and do not plan on owning any till i have lots more experiance. First i have to find someone in my area that also has an interest in snakes.

Seth