Seems like there are a lot of illegally kept animals here...

[AK907]

I see people on here from places like New York City and other places that have very strict laws on animals that apparently keep and breed such animals that are clearly defined as illegal. Example: One guy on here says he is from NYC and posts that he keeps and breeds burms, retics, cobras and taipans, amongst others. He isn't the only one, there are lots. Anyone else find this a little shady? Am I missing some bylaws or something where keeping clearly defined illegal animals is legal for these people?

I don't have any problem with keeping such animals as long as proper care can be given, but I do follow the laws. Seeing these people raise a red flag for me.

So, what gives?

[Kinra]

I would assume they have a permit. I don't know NY laws, in fact I don't know any outside of Wisconsin, but I believe there are a lot of places where you can legally own these animals if you have a special permit.

[angllady2]

I know in some cases, laws vary by location. For example, an animal illegal inside city limits is not illegal outside city limits. Perhaps that has something to do with it ?

I often wonder the same thing, how many people are deliberately or accidentally keeping illegal animals.

Gale

[pythoncrazy]

Yes you have to have permits to keep giant sized pythons in the city and also you have to be licensed to keep venomous snakes which I am.

[adamjeffery]

in nys you could have received a permit for any animals you had prior to the ban. after the ban it is possible to get one but not easy and they dont hand them out readily. i cant speak for nyc as they have a separate group of laws just for them and i am not up on their laws. they still have to follow nys laws as well though.
in nys its illegal to own:
any venemous
any rear fanged
burms, retics, anacondas, african rock and 2 other large constrictors that i can t remember off hand.
also certain monitors as well i believe but dont quote: croc monitors black throat and white throat. but not 100% on the white throat.
adam jeffery
when i have more time ill do a search and site references for others

[BallsUnlimited]

its illegal in new york city and the five borrows to own just about any reptile. Long Island where im from and all other parts of NY you can own reptiles just not the ones on the banned list from 2004 unless you were grandfathered in so to speak.

[RichsBallPythons]

Only way to own the banned species in the the 5 boroughs is to have had them before the ban in 1999 i believe. After that they will not provide a permit to keep the animals if acquired after the ban was set forth.

[JLC]

There are far too many variables in this scenario to judge people you see posting online. That's my opinion, and the stance of BP.net, anyhow.

1. Sometimes people will put down the nearest large city so folks have a general idea of their location...rather than the specific smaller city/town/suburb that may have different laws entirely.

2. Some people are simply unaware that there may be local laws against owning what seems to be a perfectly harmless pet and may likely have even been sold to them by a pet store in the same city.

3. Some people may have been grandfathered into current local restrictions.

4. Some people may have all the proper permits in place.

...and I could go on.

Here at BP.net, we don't condone actively breaking the law or encouraging people to break laws by telling them how to do so. But we are NOT the police...we are not here to enforce laws. It is not our responsibility to be aware of every law governing every country, state, city, town, or HOA that our thousands of members might live in.

If we see someone on here telling people how they can sneak around the laws in NYC and buy ball pythons illegally, then we'll put a stop to that. But if we see someone who's profile happens to say NYC and they have a pet ball python....that is their business, and it's not our job to worry about it.

[Slashmaster]

I typically put Chicago as my location since most people recognize where Chicago is, and I do have some people who stalk me across sites... however, Chicago has much stricter regulations than its suburbs.

[AK907]

Ok, I was just curious. I'm not trying to police them or cause any trouble. Most bans are ridiculous in my opinion. Just something I wondered because I see it a lot and I wasn't really singling out NYC, I just used that as an example because most are aware of that particular ban. I know some people on another forum who live in Georgia and they keep and raise corns, which I know is illegal. I've also met people in Ohio who have a pet eastern milk, which is another no-no. It just seems a lot of these bans are either ineffective, not enforced or have loop holes to get around them.