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Serpentes non gratae: 4 species of snakes banned in the United States

PetSnakes — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:03:51 +0000

Today Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a federal ban on 4 species of injurious snakes. Ostensibly this was done to protect the Florida Everglades which some people claim has become the home to hundreds of thousands of invasive Burmese Pythons. Before we get into why that claim is bogus we’ll take a look at what exactly this ban means, what snakes were banned, what snakes face a ban in the future, and what led us to this point today.

What does the snake ban mean?

Before the average snake keeper panics let me be perfectly clear. This ban will in no way, shape or form impact you. Unless…

You move across state lines:
If you own one of the 4 banned species of snakes you will not be able to transport it, or its eggs across state lines once the ban goes into effect
You plan to (re)patriate to the United States:
Short and not-so-sweet fact is that once the ban becomes official you will not be able to bring one of the four banned snakes into the United States. Anywhere.
You had plans to begin breeding and selling these snakes:
Since you can’t move these snakes or their eggs across state lines (or into the United States) you will lose the vast majority of your potential buyers.

The real impact of this ban will be shouldered by small business owners who breed, raise and sell these snakes for their livelihood. There are some breeders who have invested everything into these snakes. Time, money, blood, sweat and even tears. This ban has, with the stroke of a pen, wiped out hundreds if not thousands of businesses across the United States. For as many businesses as it has destroyed it has greatly harmed many, many more.

Let’s look at this logically and you draw your own conclusions -

Acme Snake Breeders (ASB)specializes in proving out Burmese Python morphs. In order to produce a line of morphs that is unique in the snake world they have invested tens of thousands of dollars in buying Burmese pythons from other breeders. They have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on climate controlled facilities to ensure the snakes have an optimal environment to live in. This money is spent with small businesses that design, manufacture and sell things like heat tape, caging, and thermostats. ASB also spends thousands of dollars a month buying food for the snakes from small businesses that specialize in breeding and selling feeders.

Now instead of one business going under consider that this ban will result in hundreds of businesses going under. While I don’t agree with some who claim the economic impact will be catastrophic there is no doubt it will be huge. Particularly for the businesses and families directly impacted by the ban.

Some of your reading this might wonder why ASB doesn’t just switch to breeding a species of snake that has not been banned. The problem with that is that they likely have very little money to invest on starting a new line of designer morphs using another species of snake. Remember the market has just been torn out from under them due to this ban. The hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory they were sitting on has just become worthless from a business standpoint. After all who is going to invest in a $10,000 snake when their is virtually no chance of selling the offspring to make any of that money back? In other words they have all kinds of money tied up in inventory that they can no longer liquidate. Years of breeding and proving out genetics has just been flushed down the crapper. All due to ignorance that allowed this ban to pass.

The banned snakes

The following four species of snakes were banned under this ruling:

*: Note that the African Rock Python is one species with the Northern and Southern sub-species both being banned

Snakes that face an uncertain future

Originally the intent was to ban a total of 9 species of snake (pet snakes opposes s373). Due in large part to the efforts of individuals and organizations such as US Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK) 5 of the intended targets were removed from the list. However it would be the very peak of ignorance to assume that those five species are safe from future efforts to ban them. In fact the President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (Wayne Pacelle) has openly declared his organizations displeasure that the ban of the 4 species included did not go far enough.

The Humane Society of the United States is disappointed that the Obama administration dramatically weakened an Interior Department proposal to list nine species of large constrictor snakes as “injurious” under the Lacey Act, which would prohibit importation and interstate movement of these deadly non-native snakes as pets…

“This rule was swallowed up in the federal bureaucracy for 22 months, and put through a political meat grinder, leaving us with a severely diminished final action,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS, which was one of dozens of groups pushing for the enactment of the original proposal. “We expect trade to shift to the species omitted from the trade ban, and we can only hope that the Interior Department takes a careful look and revisits the issue.”
HSUS comment on ban of only 4 species of snakes

Secretary Salazar has not ruled out a possible inclusion of more snakes in the future.

Salazar said his agency his “going after those species that present the greatest threat right now” and that five other species are being scrutinized scientifically and for the economic implications of banning those as well.
DOI: scrutinizing 5 more species of snakes

In addition to the Department of the Interior’s Salazar and the HSUS’s Pacelle there are a number of so-called animal welfare and environmental special interest groups who are not pleased with only four snake species being banned. In short they all believe that the reptile industry in the United States has over estimated our value which caused the Obama administration to err on the side of caution.

How we got to where we are

We didn’t reach this point by accident. This was a perfect storm of public outcry, political pandering, irresponsible ownership and a flash point known as the Florida Everglades.

Initially the public demand to ban these snakes was pretty weak. Sure, there were special interest groups who made a lot of noise but this was an issue largely under the radar of the general public. That all changed due to two incidents that occurred 5 months and 1100 miles apart. The first incident involved a chimpanzee named Travis who attacked and severely maimed a woman in Connecticut and the second involved 2 year old Floridian Shaunia Hare who was killed by an eight foot Burmese python improperly kept by her mother and step-father.

When Travis the chimp attacked Charla Nash it put the owners of exotic animals in general in the spotlight. The state of Connecticut, in typical knee-jerk fashion, not only decided to start enforcing a ban on private ownership of exotic animals that had been in place since 2003 but also made the law more restrictive. It was at this point that the general American public got a first hand glimpse of how dangerous exotic animals could be when not properly cared for.

Later that same year 2 year old Shaunia Hare was killed by a Burmese python while she slept in her crib. It just happened to be that Senator Bill Nelson (D) of Florida was making another attempt to get a ban on large constrictor snakes enacted when this tragedy unfolded. And in true political fashion Mr. Nelson seized the opportunity afforded him by the girls death.

It is no secret that groups like the Humane Society of the United States have deep pockets. Pockets with money that politicians and other organizations love to get their hands on. But no one will claim that the HSUS did this alone. Many groups came together in an effort to foist this ban on the American public. Especially environmental and animal rights groups.

I would be remiss not to spend some time pointing the finger where it most needs pointing. At snake owners and breeders who were more concerned with turning a profit than protecting their animals. It was the breeders who sold large and potentially dangerous snakes to people who had no business keeping them. It was the owners who did not educate themselves on what was required to keep a 15 foot, 250 pound snake safely. It was the breeders that didn’t spend a second their time educating the buyer about what to expect. It was the owner who after 18 to 24 months realized the 18 inch cute little worm was now upwards of 8 to 10 feet and overpowering grown men. It was the breeders who flooded the market with these snakes to make a quick dollar. It was the breeders and the owners who instead of euthanizing the snakes turned them loose in the Everglades.

Clearly the above does not apply to all breeders or all owners. In fact it applies to a small minority of them, but the damage done has impacted everyone.

A call to action
This is so simple it shouldn’t even need to be said. Contact your Senators and your Congress men/women and tell them why you oppose the ban. Remember, this is a ruling by the Interior department not an act of Congress. Yes, it is legally binding and yes you do have to follow it, but you can mobilize your politicians to step in and put and end to it.

Some other sites might construct you a letter to use when contacting your representative, or the President but we won’t do that here. If you really want your voice counted you will put into your own words why you oppose this ban and how it affects you and your family on a personal level. You’ll make an emotional connection with your statement and your representative will look at it in a whole different light. Remember Senator Nelson of Florida wanted to get lawmakers to enact a ban but when they wouldn’t do so he circumvented the process by bringing the Department of the Interior into play. Return the favor and get the lawmakers involved once again.

Why you need a will to protect your snakes

PetSnakes — Tue, 17 May 2011 18:45:09 +0000

This morning I came across a news article about a man in Canada who had nearly 200 reptiles. The man recently died and
did not have any kind of will to instruct others what was to become of the animals. Making matters worse his estranged common-law wife is said to have signed an agreement to donate the animals to a local zoo, but before that could happen the humane society came in and seized the animals. You can read the full details about this particular story here.

No one wants to leave their reptiles in the position that Mr. Fortyn left his due to poor planning. The old saying goes that the only thing sure in life is “death and taxes”. It was irresponsible of him not to have drawn up a legal will with specific instructions.

What to include in the will

A will is designed to protect your assets, including snakes, after you pass away. Be sure to leave very specific instructions about what should happen to your reptiles. Spell out exactly who should get what animals and any terms or conditions they must meet. Ask the people who are going to get your snakes before you sign them up for it. Assume that when the time comes some people won’t be able to take them and have an alternate plan in place.

Make up a living will

You should also draw up a living will to protect your snakes if it turns out you are incapacitated due to illness or injury. It should also detail who is going to be responsible for your reptile collection.

As a final note be sure that your will is drawn up by a professional or use software such as Quicken WillMaker Premium 2011 with Living Trust Maker software. Don’t try to be thrifty and save money. It’s a document that needs to stand up under scrutiny if people begin fighting over your snakes.

Have you considered making a will to protect your pet snakes and other animals?

No related posts.

Using social networking to save our pet snakes

PetSnakes — Sun, 02 May 2010 19:47:11 +0000

A terrible thought occurred to me last night: The only people who know anything about Senate Bill 373 and the drive to ban certain species of commonly kept pet snakes are keepers and breeders. Think about that for a minute, let it sink in. The VAST majority of Americans are oblivious to the bill. To make matters even worse most Americans have no idea what the Lacey Act is and how it effects us. But I don’t blame them. No, instead I blame us. As in you and I. We’ve not gotten the word out to those who need to hear it. In other words those people who have nothing whatsoever to do with snakes.

Don’t fret, although time is short that’s the beauty of social networking. It spreads like wildfire if used properly. We won’t waste time talking about what social networking is or why it is so effective at mobilizing people. Instead we will dive right into how we can use it to stop the effort to ban several species of pet snakes.

The tools of the trade

The number of social networking sites is mind boggling as you can see by this small sampling of them. An article from 2008 in USA Today says there were at that time around 250,000 live social networking sites. That’s a lot of people! The good news is that we’re just going to concentrate on using a few of them. If you decide to use more, great, the principle still applies.

Facebook (FB):

Born in the halls of academia, or more accurately in some guy’s dorm room, Facebook has become the defacto standard of social networking. FB has over 400 million users and the average person has 130 friends in their network. I’m not great at math but with the estimated 22% of Americans using FB that equates out to a potential 66 million people (22% of 300 million American citizens) that can be educated about the dangers of SB 373.

Twitter:

More accurately known as a micro-blogging service, Twitter has proven valuable for spreading the word on many different issues such as the fraudulent Iranian elections of 2009, or when Dell generated 6.5 million dollars in sales using Twitter alone, or when the Egyptian government freed a man held in prison there due in large part to a Twitter campaign launched by his friend. If it can be used to do those things then I can see no reason why it can’t be put to work to save our hobby and livelihood in regards to pet snakes.

Youtube:

Initially I was hesitant to include Youtube in this list due to a slightly higher level of technical difficulty but there is no denying how powerful videos are. If you are able to develop a video that goes viral it can pay huge dividends. For example the (in)famous Starwars Kid video:

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a video is worth infinitely more. Just watch for yourself:

Campaigning to protect pet snakes with Facebook

Start with friends and family when you talk about the ban on snakes. Because of your relationship with them they will at listen. Your family and friends might be willing to listen, but don’t expect them to act unless you motivate them.

That’s what makes your social networks such a powerful tool. You can use them to motivate many family members and friends. Best of all if you can motivate them to take a stand in defense of the hobby they will also be motivated enough to motivate their friends.

Post a short paragraph about what is happening on your wall. Close it by asking a question about their opinion on the issue. It doesn’t hurt to make sure that at the very least friends of friends can see and comment as well.
Send the top 5 or 10 people most likely to listen a direct message. Explain to them why it is important to you. How it will affect you personally. The goal is to turn it into something they care about because they care about you. Underhanded? Perhaps, but don’t let that stop you.
Join and recommend a FB page such as USARK to all of your friends. In my experience people join just about any page that you recommend them to check out. That’s not a good thing, but it is another avenue of education for them.

Bringing Twitter to the defense of pet snakes

I follow 3 internet marketers on twitter and at any time of the day I check at least one of them is tweeting about their website, or their product. I may not believe in their product, I might not believe their sales claims, but the undeniable fact is that people are reading about it because they use their twitter account to talk about it. Then people respond and retweet what they’ve said. Compare that to the rest of the people I follow (190+ as of this writing) with about 60% of them being reptile related. I’m lucky to see 5 tweets a day about SB 373. If I’m not seeing them then I doubt many other people are.

It’s simple enough to use twitter. Tweet once an hour directing people to an online resource talking about the impact of SB 373 on the snake keeping hobby. You can do it from a computer, a mobile device, or just a simple cellular phone. People will visit the site you point them to.

In short start using your twitter account to tell people about what is happening in this hobby. If Twitter can spark a revolution in Iran than surely it can be used to defend our privileges in regards to pet snakes.

Youtub’in for our pet snakes

There seems to be two things that stop people from using Youtube.

A lack of technical skill in regards to creating content and getting it online
A belief they need a video camera, or even a camera at all

This isn’t the place to give technical instruction on how to create content, or how to setup a Youtube account. Instead watch these videos:

Once you know how to create a video put something together. Aim for a video between 30 seconds and 2 minutes long. If you need pictures don’t hesitate to use Advanced Google Image Search to find images that abide by the creative commons licensing agreement. Just look for the line that says Usage Rights Return images that are: and drop it down to the appropriate license you need.

After you create your video get it in front of people. Comment on other videos, or better yet post a video response:

Any questions?

In conclusion I wanted to know if anyone has questions or needs help getting going on any of this? I can’t do much with the creative process but I can help with the technical side and getting you started. Normally I wouldn’t offer but the issue is just that important and we really don’t have any time to spare. Remember public comments are due by May 11, 2010 so if you want your social networks to make a difference, now is the time to do so.

Pet-snakes.com opposes S373 (and so should you) because it is not based on credible science

PetSnakes — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:08:51 +0000

In 1900 the American congress passed and President William McKinley signed what is commonly refered to as The Lacey Act (from here on known as “the bill”) named after Iowa senator John F. Lacey who authored the bill. The original intent of the bill was to curb the poaching of game and birds in one state only to have them shipped across state lines into another state. In the original version of the bill was also concerned with the introduction of

non-native, invasive species into the American ecosystem. It has been amended several times over the years, and in 1969 the list of wildlife covered by the bill was expanded to include amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans. Over the years since the original version of the bill was made law the penalties have increasingly gotten stiffer and stiffer for violating it. For example in 1981 congress amended the standard of prosecution to be knowingly whereas it had been willfully. They also increased the maximum civil and criminal penalties to 10k and 20k respectively.

Latest proposed amendment
On Feb 3, 2009 Senator Bill Nelson (D)Florida, introduced SB 373 that aims to add the following change to the Lacey Act:

To amend title 18, United States Code, to include constrictor snakes of the species Python genera as an injurious animal.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. IMPORTATION OR SHIPMENT OF INJURIOUS SPECIES.

Section 42(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended in the first sentence by inserting ‘; of the constrictor snake of the species Python genera’ after ‘polymorpha’.

This bill was cosponsored by Carl Levin (D)Michigan and has was revised before coming out of committee and being sent to the full senate for a vote. The amendment narrowed the list of species banned under this proposed law change to nine. They include:

Python molurus – Indian Python
Broghammeras reticulatus – Reticulated (regal) Python
Python sebae – African Rock Python
Python natalensis – Natal Rock Python
Boa constrictor – Boa Constrictor (BCI, BCC, etc)
Eunectes notaeus – Yellow Anaconda
Eunectes deschauenseei – Dark-Spotted Anaconda
Eunectes murinus – Green Anaconda
Eunectes beniensis – Anaconda (Bolivia

While the change to “only” nine species is much better than the original bill which would have essentially banned all constrictor snakes it is still unacceptable for a variety of reasons.

It is based on bad science

The purpose of the Lacey Act is to protect native plants and wildlife from both invasive foreign species and human beings. It is a national law that is appropriate when a species is able to spread beyond a very localized region. The species listed above simply cannot survive outside of very specific climates. In other words they are NOT in any way shape or form an invasive species for any part of the Unites States except very specific locations, primarily in Flordia.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a study (PDF) that even to the most casual observer is teeming with errors, misconceptions, half-truths, and outright lies. Unfortunately this same study is what many politicians and lay persons are using to guide their thinking on SB373. For instance the report claims that there is a colonization risk in the US by these animals via the pet trade. That might be true if we all lived in the extreme south of Florida but for the other 99.9% of the country there is no risk of colonization. If I were to put my Boa Constrictor outside in the 6 inches of snow that is on the ground it would die in very short order. Same is true of any of the species listed. There is a reason they are native to the tropical and sub-tropical regions they are and it’s not because they invaded and adapted to those areas.

That report isn’t the only one that relies on lies. Another estimate claims that there are approximately 50,000 invasive snakes living in the Florida Everglades. Originally published in 1999 by Cornell University that same number is cited a decade later. Two questions come to mind.

Why are the estimates at 50,000 ten years after the Cornell study? If these snakes pose a threat of colonization why haven’t their numbers grown?
Why are these 50,000 animals still living in a very, very tiny (geographically speaking) region? Why have they not migrated?

Fact is that the estimates are likely way off. By tens of thousands. If there were 50,000 giant constrictor snakes in the Flordia Everglades they’d have a HUGE impact on the local wildlife. There wouldn’t be any of it left! These snakes don’t feed on your average sized pet mice or gerbil. They need large prey and there’s simply not that much large prey in the Everglades. They haven’t migrated because they can’t. There is no other climates that support their needs. Southern Flordia is unique out of all the rest of the United States. It is the only place that combines the necessary temperatures, humidity, and food source for these animals to survive. When we examine these two facts objectively it’s impossible to say that these 9 species of snake pose a threat of colonization.

It is economically disasterous for many people

There are many people who make their living with these snakes. They have dedicated their time, effort, and money to breeding and promoting these snakes. These snakes are their livelihood. With the state of the economy today it is utter foolishness to turn around and tell people they can’t make a living doing what has been perfectly acceptable and legal up to that point. Granted people will still be able to breed and sell these and other snakes but because it would prohibit the interstate trade of them it would ruin many small businesses. Beyond just the snake breeders are the small businesses who exist solely to support them. Cage builders for example. If I can’t buy a Reticulated python what need have I for a cage that can house one? If I can’t buy a Boa Constrictor I don’t need to feed it, therefore the people who breed and sell feeder animals are impacted.

This law is motivated by emotion not fact

The simple fact of the matter is that the only reason this amendment to the Lacey act is going to pass is because it is a hot button, emotional issue. The people who support this law have exploited one unfortunate event over the past year that has gotten the attention of the national media. The death of 2 year old Shaianna Hare when an illegally and improperly secured Burmese python escaped from it’s cage and killed her in Florida. In fact S 373 looked to be heading nowhere fast until this happened. No one was ignorant enough to believe that these snakes are an invasive species that are dangerous to the American ecosystem. But when a little girl was killed any excuse to ban them became a good excuse.

There is a real problem

No one should say there isn’t a very real problem with these snakes. There is, but it is very much a local problem for the state of Florida to deal with. The Florida Wildlife and Conservation Commission began a program to record, capture and kill injurious species in the Everglades. In fact Florida is so serious about dealing with the issue that they’ve declared the hunt will go for a full year from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. No one denies that Florida has a very real problem to deal with. The issue is that it’s not an issue that can spread to other parts of the country.

We won’t get another chance

This matter is pressing for one simple matter. It made it out of committee. This means that the full Senate will vote on it and if they pass it then it is passed on to the House of Representatives who would then make the changes they see fit to it and then vote on it. Once the President signs the bill it becomes law. Do we want to risk that either the House won’t pass the bill or that President Obama won’t sign it? If you own snakes, or any other reptiles you need to oppose this amendment to the US Code. There are several things you can do.

Contact your state’s Senators directly
Contact your local and state representatives as well. They also need to be educated on the matter.
Support organizations such as U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers and PIJAC both of which are working hard to oppose S 373 and other bills at both the federal and state level that would hurt our hobby.
Write letters to your local newspapers telling them the facts as they are
Be on the lookout to correct misconceptions online. If it is a place you can post a comment correcting wrong information do so. Keep it short, and respectful, but don’t just let it go without correcting it