Florida tightens rules for owning non-native reptiles

Florida tightens rules for owning non-native reptiles
By David Fleshler

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

(MCT)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - With giant snakes battling alligators in the Everglades, the state wildlife commission has proposed sharp restrictions on the owners of Burmese pythons and four other non-native reptiles, including a requirement to implant their slithery pets with computer identification chips.

Florida's hot and wet climate has made the state a congenial home for species from Africa, Asia and South America let loose by their owners after they become too big or too high maintenance. A breeding population of Burmese pythons has been discovered in Everglades National Park, where the constrictors have been killing native birds, mammals, and in one notorious incident, an alligator. Elsewhere in the state, trappers routinely catch pythons and other large non-native snakes.

The new rules would limit sales of constricting snakes that grow to at least 12 feet, specifically Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons, African rock pythons, amethystine or scrub pythons and green anacondas. The rules would also restrict sales of Nile monitors, carnivorous lizards that can grow up to six feet and already have established a breeding population in the Cape Coral area on Florida's Gulf coast, where they menace burrowing owls and gopher tortoises.

At the moment, anyone can walk into a pet shop and walk out with a python. Under the new rules, buyers would have to be 18 years old, complete a questionnaire, apply for a state permit, submit a plan for keeping the animal secure in case of a hurricane or other disaster, and have the reptile implanted with a computer chip.

The rules would go into effect Jan. 1, 2008. They would be retroactive, although owners would have until July 1 to comply with the chip requirement.

Commonly used to help return lost dogs, cats and birds, the computer chip identifying the reptile's owner would be implanted by a vet. If wildlife officials caught the snake in the wild, they could check the chip, find the owner and charge him or her with a second-degree misdemeanor for allowing the non-native animal to get loose, said Capt. John West of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The maximum penalty would be a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

Assuming - and hoping - that many owners of the big snakes will find these rules too onerous, the state plans to set up amnesty programs that would allow people to drop off unwanted reptiles at sites yet to be determined, no questions asked.

"We don't know how many are out there," said West. "We have a suspicion it's a high number. We're hoping a lot of people will say they don't want to do this and turn them in."

The exotic pet industry is big business in Florida, with an annual convention in Daytona Beach that draws thousands of buyers and sellers from around the world. Pet dealers, bruised from all the publicity about pythons invading the Everglades and gobbling up native species, watched warily as the state drafted the new rules, but many support them.

"I personally think our industry has had a lot of bad media with the alligator and the Burmese python picture from the Everglades," said Stacey Siegel, co-owner of Ben Siegel Reptiles of Deerfield Beach, referring to a famous 2004 photograph that showed the two species in a marsh at Everglades National Park. "I think a lot of this has been hyped by the media."

But she supports the restrictions because she thinks they will reassure people that exotic snakes can continue to be sold without endangering the public.

"People who choose to keep these animals do have to be responsible," she said. "I think taking these steps will give the general public that has a fear of reptiles a little peace of mind."

Each year, she sells about 200 Burmese pythons, at prices ranging from $65 for one with conventional coloring and markings to up to $250 for unusual ones such as green or albino pythons. She sells fewer than 100 reticulated pythons, and even fewer African rock pythons and green anacondas.

"They're really magnificent creatures," said Siegel, who had a Burmese python as a pet. "She was very tame and very nice. I had her for a long time, and she died of old age."

The restrictions would have to be approved by the wildlife commission, a seven-member board appointed by the governor. The commission initially will consider the proposals at a Feb. 7-8 meeting in West Destin.

Marcus Cantos, a Fort Myers reptile dealer who represents the state's reptile industry in dealings with the commission, said he was concerned that some of the snakes would be too small to be safely implanted with a computer chip. He said he suspects pythons came to Everglades National Park not through illegal releases, but because of the vast damage caused in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew, which destroyed the homes of many snake owners, allowing their pets to escape into the wild. West acknowledged the commission had no proof that the snakes had been illegally released.

And Cantos said the new rules wouldn't prevent people from smuggling in pythons from out of state or buying them over the Internet. But he said he supports the regulations in general, saying owners and the industry need to be responsible, and he understands the wildlife commission feels compelled to act.

"There's a lot of pressure on the state," he said. "We can't have our state look like a Wild West jungle for tourists."

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