WARNING for Florida herpers!

[joebad976]

This is nothing new.....FWC has been trolling Craigslist for a few years now busting people selling reptiles without a Class III permit. I have been in the hobby 4 years now and have been aware of this since day 1.

There is enough negative news in our hobby as it is so if you plan to sell reptiles in any state please make sure you research your state laws and obtain the appropriate licensing as needed.

[RoseyReps]

I think what people are tripping over is that there are two permits you can get. The first is the personal possession permit, and that is the one ball pythons are exempt for. When you look at the FWC site where it lists the Class III exempt animals, it says (in bold) the list is only valid for the personal possession license. There is not an exemption list for the Class III exhibition and sale license. So if you are selling any Class III animals in FL you are supposed to have your exhibition and sales paperwork.

This ^^^^^^^


Yes. Thank you. I couldn't seem to get that across as eloquently.

[M&H]

Florida has had these laws for a long time. It's not unheard of for FWC to monitor Craigslist or the reptile groups that are on Facebook and they also go to shows to stop people from "illegally" trading or selling there.

There are three different types of permits in Florida in regards to reptiles.

Conditional Species Permit. This applies to burms, retics, rocks, croc monitors, ect.... From my understanding this permit comes with a lot of stipulations in regards to caging, microchip ping, and transportation requirements. It varies from officer to officer however they mostly give permits to only those who use them for education.

Class III license is to sell, trade or display animals. Technically you cannot take your snake out and about without this license in public. You cannot rehome, sell or trade without this license. If you are caught having your snake in public without the license they can take your animal from you.

Then there is a license to just own them. It's free and I'm not quite sure of the point. I think it's to keep track of who has what honestly however I'm not sure.

Also if the police come to your house and you have a large snake they are required to call FWC for them to check it out.

The best thing you can do is just pay the ticket and do it there way. If you lie you will just make life harder on yourself. If you post in a group where it's often said you need those licenses it will be presented in court. I've never heard of FWC just showing up for a small town backyard meet up. Either the guy set you up, they have been watching you for awhile, or the details of the set up were posted in a forum or a place where others can see it.

[wilomn]

And in that list it does not have ball python listed. I would fight that and tell FWC that they need to learn what animals are acceptable and what are not by the laws that they are to protect.

I'm guessing you've never dealt with FWC. You might also want to stop giving advice in areas where you know so little when the consequences can be significant.

[mattb]

I'm guessing you've never dealt with FWC. You might also want to stop giving advice in areas where you know so little when the consequences can be significant.

Before you just jump down on me. Am I not able to give my on thoughts on a subject?? Where did I ever say "My advice to you would be to fight it"?? So when you want to go and jump on someone you may want to take a step back.

All I was doing was going off the info that I saw and stating my thoughts on the matter like everyone else. But maybe I am not entitled to my on thoughts.

Again I would like you to point out were I said "My advice..."

Edit: You know I have no problems with people pointing out if I miss read something, and I guess I did because I didn't see anything on their site. I just have a problem with people jumping other people just for stating what they think.

[helmethead]

As already mentioned I had gone to the FWC website to check if I needed some sort of permit and as stated by numerous others,
it's rather confusing. Maybe I should have looked deeper or asked on this very forum way back when I first joined or searched this
or other forums on this matter. Someone said the subject has popped up here over the years but sadly I've never come across it.

I'm sure they scope out sights like Craig's List all the time, hell just the other day(April actually) I punched in 420 to see what would
pop up and WOW. I thought, well there are a bunch of dumb criminals out there or the popo think the criminals are that dumb.

But to set up a sting for selling a ball python? REALLY! I thought they had more important things to do with our tax dollars.
Oh well, you live, you learn.

[helmethead]

I think I'm going to need a lawyer just to fill out the application,
have you really looked at it? What if you don't have or want a business name?
I only have a few snakes. This should be fun

[sho220]

What if you don't have or want a business name?

N/A should cover that, unless it's required information...

[helmethead]

N/A should cover that, unless it's required information...

Ok, now I'm just over thinking all of this.

[ATTFighter]

yea, they make you have a critical disaster plan to....

I think I'm going to need a lawyer just to fill out the application,
have you really looked at it? What if you don't have or want a business name?
I only have a few snakes. This should be fun