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With Wes being gone... NEWS - Japan to require microchips for 'dangerous' animals

bps516 Oct 17, 2005 09:54 AM

Please note the thread below (under topic Registration) were I state that we should do microchipping along with registration. I am glad they took my advice but they did not give me any credit for it! LOL...

And is there anyone here that actually takes their python for a walk at the park?!? And is there realy any reason to include a giant salamander as a dangerous animal?

From Yahoo News:

Japan to require microchips for 'dangerous' animals

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is moving toward requiring owners of potentially dangerous animals, such as crocodiles and pythons, to have microchips implanted in their pets in case the animals get loose, officials said on Thursday.

The move follows a recent wave of incidents around the nation in which animals such as pythons, crocodiles and giant salamanders have been found wandering loose, frequently on the streets of densely populated cities.

In one notorious case, a man lost track of his pet python after he took the animal "for a walk" in a park and the snake fled when the man fell asleep on a bench. He was quoted by one TV station as saying he was surprised the snake disappeared because it wasn't that kind of snake.

The Environment Ministry is drawing up a law that would require tiny cylindrical microchips -- 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) long and 2 millimeters (0.08 inch) in diameter -- implanted under the skin of some 650 animal species, a ministry official said.

Each microchip would carry information making it possible to trace the owner if the animal goes missing.

Among the animals included in the proposed law, which is likely to come into effect from next January, are various snakes, snapping turtles and bears. "There was a sense that it is good to have better management of these kinds of animals," the official said. Exotic animals such as reptiles have become increasingly popular pets in Japan over the last few years, largely because they are clean and quiet and usually reside in terrariums -- a big plus in the nation's cramped apartments, which often forbid ownership of more common four-footed friends.

With escapes becoming more frequent, however, calls have risen for tighter regulation of such pets.

In the past week alone, police in Kanagawa prefecture, just west of Tokyo, were called out to capture a green iguana and a 66-centimetre giant salamander, while a woman in downtown Tokyo found a 1-metre-long python curled up on some quilts in a closet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051014/od_nm/japan_animals_dc;_ylt=AsG7Q5KrbsgAmiQNDw2_NdCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Replies (5)

mrcota Oct 18, 2005 09:14 PM

That is almost comical from a country that has almost no regulations over the animals that come into their country. Japan has an unbelieveable number of CITES animals that come into their country with the most questionable of paperwork; it is definitely paperwork that would be rejected in the US or the EU. They have no idea what is entering their country (with all the smuggling) so how in the world are they going to regulate that mess?

The idea is good for the large and dangerous reptiles to hold those people accountable, but Japan is going to have one hard time trying to implement it.

Michael

Oct 19, 2005 07:25 AM

Bryan;
Thanks for covering while I was gone - the Rattlesnake Symposium was impressive and I learned a lot.
As to your question about the bite of the Giant Salamander. As a newt keeper (200 in 25 species, 30 aquariums from 100 gal on in basement), I have some modest knowledge about the critters. Basically ... Giant sals ... and your own Hellbenders, hurt like &^%$!! when they latch on! They do have teeth ... and lots of them.
Cheers
Wes
= = = = =
CALIFORNIA WILD Winter 97 Giant Salamanders (Barbara Sleeper)
…Designated a Special Natural Monument, the Japanese giant salamanders have been given full legal protection. … Cryptobranchids have dramatic feeding behavior. According to Maruska, the water literally explodes when a salamander suddenly opens its mouth to gulp prey. Scientists studying them have discovered unique and spectacular asymmetries in the salamander's jaw and the hyoid movements made during this rapid suction feeding. Depending on the position of the prey, the animal can rapidly and forcefully open and close one side of its mouth independently and bend its mandible forward by as much as 40 degrees. This action generates the necessary force to capture prey, and Maruska has seen an unwary keeper's finger badly mangled by a giant salamander.
http://www.calacademy.org/calwild/1997winter/stories/wildlives.html

And in the following photo (URL below), they illustrate a bite. Given the 'signature' of the bite imprint, and from a >2 footer at that ... and no information as to whether it was a warning nip - feeding bite - or a full tempered "take this buddy" ... you can imagine what a mad 5 or 6 footer would do!. I can understand the regulation. Photo of Giant Sal bite at: http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~herpsgh/andrias_bite.html

bps516 Oct 19, 2005 04:31 PM

np
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Jaykis Oct 20, 2005 05:56 PM

"He was quoted by one TV station as saying he was surprised the snake disappeared because it wasn't that kind of snake."
I guess it was more of a stay at home type...... Man, that's the kind of person who shouldn't keep snakes...no common sense or knowledge.
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1.1 Blackheaded pythons
1.1 Woma (Juvie female)
2.1 Aussie Olives
1.1 Timors
1.0 Angolan Juvie
1.1 Savu
1.1 Juvie Bloods
1.1 Juvie Balls
1.1 IJ Carpets
1.1 Coastal Carpets
1.2 Macklotts
1.1 Papuan Olives
0.1 Jungle Carpet
2.2 Scrubs (on breeding loan)
0.1 Jungle/Diamond cross
0.1 child, CB
0.1 wife, WC

bps516 Oct 21, 2005 05:05 PM

LOL I read that too. I noticed the reporter did not ask him to elborate on it.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

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