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FLORIDA CORNSNAKE BAN - DEADLINE 12/4/14

dave partington

dave partington

Crazy Dave
COPIED FROM USARK - United States Association of Reptile Keepers
ACTION ALERT: Florida
Read it below or at http://goo.gl/fd5e1N

Florida Snake Ban (including Ball pythons and Corn snakes)
DEADLINE 12/4/14

Dunedin, Florida will likely pass a ban on nearly all snakes unless they hear resistance. Tomorrow (12/4/14) at 6:30 PM the revised ordinance will be heard and could pass including a ban on nearly all snakes. There is already a ban on "poisonous" snakes, but they plan to amend the ordinance to add all constrictor snakes over 4' in length.

Any locals should attend the meeting (address below) and speak against this absurdly over-reaching ordinance. If you are unsure what to say, there is plenty of information in our Action Alert to form a statement.

All Florida residents should complete our Action Alerts and anyone can use Action Alert #2. Click here for Action Alerts: HTTP://www.usark.org/campaign/action-alert-dunedin-florida/

Remember to be civil and professional at all times! Any other behavior will only harm our community and our efforts.

The proposed language is bracketed below:

"It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, harbor or maintain any live poisonous snakes [or constrictor snakes greater than four (4) feet in length] within the city, either as domestic pets or for a commercial purpose."

Meeting location and time:

12/4/2014 6:30 PM
542 Main Street
Dunedin, Florida 34698
 
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My letter:

NO to snake ban! Hi, and thank you for reading this. As a Florida resident who will be affected by this ban, I urge you to consider some facts. Florida already has laws in place to restrict the ownership of large constrictors and venomous snakes to keepers who have passed rigorous requirements and inspections. Banning "all" constricting snakes would not save any lives, because these snakes simply are not dangerous. Instead, it would prevent children from experiencing pet ownership and education with perhaps the easiest pet animal there is. The number one most popular pet snake is a Florida native, the cornsnake. The Florida king snake is a close contender. We _want_ children, and adults, to have a love for these animals, so they can share their knowledge and encourage others to safeguard our native snake species.

In addition, it harms a number of other industries besides the pet snake industry. Florida has many rodent breeding facilities around the state, supplying zoos and aquariums, as well as pet owners, over the entire United States. When snakes are banned, these farmers lose business. There are manufacturers of snake equipment, such as caging systems and incubators, located in Florida. Local, regional and national reptile shows bring buyers from across the state, from neighboring states, and even from other countries- staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants, visiting our tourist attractions when they come here for a reptile show.

If an ordinance is to be considered, input from citizens and alternatives to over-reaching bans should be at the forefront of discussions. States and municipalities across the country are actually amending bans with common sense legislation including animal welfare concerns, animal registration and/or minimum caging standards rather than over-restriction. It is very rare that officials are educated with the husbandry and welfare of these animals, so input from legitimate experts, educators, scientists and veterinarians should be used to write ordinances. Laws such as this certainly should not be written without peer-reviewed scientific backing.

There is no valid reason to introduce this ban. Thank you for your time and have a good day.

Nanci LeVake
Alachua, FL
 
I take it there is no "grandfather" clause attached to the amendment.

But you all don't have to worry, they are only concerned about the "poisonous" snakes, not the "venomous" ones!

And what, pray tell, do they expect people to do with all these snakes already in possession? I would think Florida has the highest population of all confined snakes combined.
 
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