This subject is one I can carry on about forever.

There is no such thing as a permit to have them in the USA, it is a felony straight up to have or molest them in any way.

The specimens in captivity in Europe are not in any way due to government stupidity, Just because we recognize them as critically endangered, they are a US species, therefore they are not endangered in other countries, since they are not indigenous anywhere but the USA.

A little trivia, the snakes in the San Francisco zoo are from the European bloodlines, it was easier for the zoo to import them from Holland than to get clearance from uncle Sam to gather more.

The Sharp Park golf course destroyed an immense habitat when the engineers diked off the waterways and backfilled the wetlands to make a "prime" spot for golfing.