Snake License?

[ssscales]

Has anyone heard of this snake license being talked about for FL?

There seems to be talk about Florida requiring snake owners to have some sort of license to own a snake. I have only heard of this second hand and no one seems to know anything concrete about it.


Has anyone out there heard or read anything about this?

I'm interested in what types of snakes will be under this umbrella, how much the license will cost, if it's permanent or you need a yearly renewal, what requirements are needed, etc.

[Wild Bill]

I read about this on another forum. If I am not mistaken, I believe it was going to be for anything over 6' in length. I also think they said $100 per year for the permit, but it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong.

[ssscales]

Unfortunately, I knew this would happen sooner or later.
This time I think you may be right!

Do you know if that will be $100 per snake per year? I won't mind paying, getting a license or jumping through hoops! As long as they don't take away my snakes with some outright ban on non-native reptiles or something similar!

Is this just another rumor or is this the real deal?

[ssscales]

According to a member on a boa forum:

The proposal was passed by law and the official list was: Burms, Rocks, Amethystines, Retics and Monitors.

Can anyone else confirm this?
My sources knew nothing of the law being passed, just rumors.

[Wild Bill]

I saw something else that said just giant constrictors, but who knows what was actually passed. I think the $100 per year was covering an individual to own them and not per snake.

Here is the Florida statutes.

laws

Might take some searching.

[ssscales]

From a local newspaper:

On Wednesday, a House committee in Tallahassee approved a bill that would require owners to obtain an annual giant snake license, likely $100 a year, and make releasing them when they get too big a crime with hefty fines and potentially, jail time.

The bill would expand existing regulations for venomous snakes to a handful of exotic escapees, including Burmese, African rock, reticulated and amethystine pythons and monitor lizards.

The prime target, said bill sponsor Rep. Ralph Poppell, a Vero Beach Republican, is the impulse buyer whose little pet can stretch to six feet in a year, twice that size in two.

''It will sort of make people stop and think,'' said Poppell. ``Mom is not as likely to spend 20 bucks on a snake if it has a $100 permit with it.

State wildlife managers, who helped craft the proposal, are already worried about a surge of snake dumping and are setting up the state's first snake amnesty day -- tentatively May 6 in Orlando -- for anyone who might grow uncomfortable with pets capable, potentially, of gulping them whole.

If all goes well, other amnesty days will be offered to accommodate the estimated 5,000 people who possess problematic species.

The stepped-up snake control efforts come six months after a string of disturbing encounters -- including the macabre Everglades case of a 13-foot python that ruptured trying to swallow a six-foot alligator last September. That was followed in short order by swallowings of a turkey, then a house cat in Miami-Dade's suburban outskirts.

[Shelby]

Hmm.. well you know $100 a year is reasonable.. and if it helps keep impulse buyers away from burms and retics, then good! I think with reasonable laws like this, the herp hobby will be healthier. Just as long as they don't try to make it more expensive/restrictive.

[ssscales]

For your reading pleasure:

http://myfwc.com/captive/MinutesFeb06Meeting.pdf

[adizziedoll]

I totally agree. They could be unreasonable and make all snake owners have a license, or worse, ban snakes all together.

It seems that they have the right idea: to keep people buying that rock python because it looks so cute when it's little.
Unfortunatly, there are a lot of people who jump right in with no research or experience, and have no idea why their snake is 8' long 2 years later . Then the snake either gets dumped on a poor little rescue service with lots of kitties and chinchillas, or worse, just plain dumped.

The only part I didn't like about this article: "for anyone who might grow uncomfortable with pets capable, potentially, of gulping them whole." That's not going to help any hysteria already manifested in the non-educated community.