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

[anthonym]

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.

You nailed it. Bans are ineffective. It much like drugs, just because you outlaw them, doesn't mean its going to stop people from obtaining them. Bans on animals aren't going to eliminate the animal trade in those states, its just going to make it move underground and involve people willing to take the risks. It's a very hard thing to regulate in reality and far too easy to maintain a collection of illegal animals without being caught.