Reptile & Amphibian Forums

There is up to a $1000 fine per violation (per Corn). There is also an indiginous species permit(so I am told), but Fish and Wildlife is tip toeing around my questions....

Does anyone live in Georgia or know anyone that has this permit?

Thanks, Chris O
P.s. All of my Corns are being babysat by my good friends at Gem State Reptiles in Idaho!)
www.gemstatereptiles.com
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www.chrisolsonreptiles.com
Naked I see the camp of those who desire nothing

My mother-in-law lives in Savannah, so when we last went there, I decided to do some herping around the Savannah Country Club, in hopes of finding some new wild caught blood to introduce to my collection. Imagine my dismay to discover that it was illegal to collect corns in GA? Especially when it was such a GOOD way for me to get out of "Mom's" house for hours on end...ahem!

Later, I saw a guy offering his wild caught GA corns for sale on another site. I contacted him, and included him in on the information regarding corns being kept, sold, or traded in GA: all of it was illegal. He then gave me some story about how he got special permission. I looked on the GA DNR site and saw that corns cannot be captured, kept, sold or traded except for educational purposes, and THEN only with special permits issued by the State. Since educational purposes excluded the idea of selling these animals on the internet as pets, I knew this guy was full of it and told him so. He got angry then disappeared...what a shock.

So, to answer your questions: No, you may not capture, keep, buy, seel, or trade cornsnakes in GA. Yes, there are special permits that are available from the GA DNR, but they only apply to educational displays such as zoos, classrooms, etc.

For the hobbiest, there is simply no way to legally have cornsnakes in GA, not even int he case of mutated morphs, which are obviously not wild caught. They just don't want them in your house, and though there have been some efforts to try to change things at the State house, nothing has taken place toward that end so far.

Sorry for the bad news...but that's the way it is for now.
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

It is, but if I lived in Georgia, I wouldn't let it bother me. Hell, here in Minnesota oral sex is also illegal. I wonder if the DNR keeps records on those cases......

Matt

You may not have fully considered the broader ramifications of your "so what?" attitude on the subject.

You see, anytime a herper fails to follow the laws of the land in which he or she lives, it makes it harder for all of us in every part of the country. There are people who simply hate snakes, and think that none of us should ever be able to own them. Others, like those heavily involved in PETA and likeminded organizations, think that the snakes have actual rights to be protected, and we have no right to imprison them in our racks and tanks at home.

So you see, whenever anyone, ANYONE is busted for not complying with the laws of the GA DNR, or any other controlling legal body, we are all made to look like exactly what our opponents want us to be portrayed as to the public...lawless, anti-social, misfits whose rights ought not to be protected by a mass of society that either fears or (at best) does not understand reptiles in general and snakes in particular.

A person living in GA may well decide to ignore the law, being willing to take upon himself the the risk of being found as a criminal in violation of GA statutes, and if he were the only one that might be made to suffer from his infractions, I wouldn't care in the slightest. But when the actions of a few take away the ability of so many of us to show ourselves as respectable business men and women in the United States at large...well, I guess I think that such a position ought to be denounced by all responsible herpers, wherever we might live.
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

n/p
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I'm not sure I want popular opinion on my side -- I've noticed those with the most opinions often have the fewest facts.

But I will certainly not give up on this. On a similar subject...I will be giving two class room presentations with Boas and Pythons to the Elementary students of Effingham County....so getting a educational permit for the Corns may not be too much of a stretch....I hope....

Thanks for your input, it was well thought out.
Chris O
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www.chrisolsonreptiles.com
Naked I see the camp of those who desire nothing

If it sounded as though I were satisfied with the status quo in GA, I need to back up here, because that is definitely NOT the case!

I want the system changed...I just FIRMLY believe that change can only come from within the system, rather than a flagrant disregard from the system.

I applaud your willingness to educate people (especially kids) about snakes. I do the same in my area, and encourage everyone to do so at every given opportunity.
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742