Georgia laws

[Santa]

Here in North Carolina and in South Carolina, the only thing you need is a permit for venomus(SP) and crocidilian anilmals. Other than that, that is about it.

Sorry there wolfman, but you had better read up on your laws.

NC law requires that you have a wildlife "collecting" license from the Wildlife Resources Commission to posess native species (including cornsnakes) even if you purchase them out-of- state. Reference: G.S. 113-261 and 272.4. The fee for said permit is a whopping $5 annually.

You can get an application by writing to: WILDLIFE COLLECTING LICENSE, Division of Wildlife Management, 1724 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699.

 

[cowboyman13]

Here is the answer i recived
Answer
Mr. Perry,

Although the Law doesn't seem to make sense to you, you understand it
correctly. The Law in Georgia provides protection to all non-venomous
snakes and that protection is not tied to abundance. Therefore, even the
abundant rat snakes in Georgia are protected and may not be killed,
molested or possessed.

Our advise/guidance on this issue has long been to simply choose a
non-venomous species that does not occur in Georgia. Non-venomous
snakes that don't occur in this state are not regulated and may be kept
as pets and bred or sold.

I'm sorry it isn't what you want to hear but that is the current law
in Georgia.

Scott Frazier
Special Permit Unit
(770) 761-3044
[email protected]

>>> <[email protected]> 3/7/2005 8:11:19 AM >>>My orginal question

Name: James Perry
Phone number: (813)
E-mail address: [email protected]

As a native of GA i was curious about the keeping of a pet snake. I now
reside in FL where Captive Bred cornsnakes are avalible for purschase at
most pet shops. I know the law in GA says that you must not harm or
molest any non venomus snake in GA. But does law prevent you from owning
a Captive Bred Cornsnake or other native species from GA that is not on
the endangered or threated list. It seems odd that this would be the
case. I could understand a species like the indigo snake here in FL that
is protected. But a species like the abudant Rat, and Corn in GA would
be hard to comprehend. Please help me clear up this for I dont plan to
remain in FL forever my intention is to return home to North Georgia
where I am from.

Well there you have it straight from the mouth of The Ga DNR.

 

[Chip]

Yep, you can't even sell morph corns at shows or in pet shops. Not that this would deter me in the least.

 

[Sisuitl]

I bet creamsicles and whatnot are legal though. I know that hybrids are not protected under federal law, and you could probably present the same argument in a state court, that your animal is not a pure corn and so the law does not apply. With a lot of the crazy bright colored morphs we have, you could probably claim that it's a hybrid, even if it's only 10% black rat or whatever, and there'd be no way of proving otherwise without doing a DNA test. Heck, with the number of emory crosses being bred, I wonder just how many "pure" corns have got one or more in their background.

I know a lady who breeds hybrid north american X siberian lynx. They are legal to own since they aren't protected under any species laws.

Generally what I have noticed about laws like that is this:

They don't go around busting down your doors looking to see if you have any illegal herps. Usually unless a game warden finds you molesting wild snakes or
they bust into your house because you have a meth lab, they just don't care.
It seems to be one of those charges that's tacked on when you are arrested for something more serious. I'm not saying that they won't ever fine or arrest you for only breaking that law, but your chances of getting away with it are pretty good if you don't break any other laws.

On a side note, corns are 100% legal in Washington state.

 

[Chip]

I'm not saying that they won't ever fine or arrest you for only breaking that law, but your chances of getting away with it are pretty good if you don't break any other laws.

I'd venture to say your odds are near 100%.

 

[Lampro-king]

I just went and veiwed the link you provided . WHAT A STATE !!!!!. You can pretty much kill any animal that they consider a nuisance but you cant keep it as a pet. But I bet you can have a cat that can, will and does eat the large majority of of every mammal, reptile and avian species listed as protected on their site. Tell all the people in a state they can't have a cat and see what happens----yeah. All i can say is pet shops in georgia must be really boring. And I'll never LIVE OR VACATION THERE.

 

[Alias47]

This link is for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources

http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/displaycontent.asp?txtDocument=6&txtPage=2

It has a list of animals that are prohibited...
I have spoken with Georgia DNR in the past...doing a little research for a friend...they made it clear that it is easy to get a permit for an educator or zoo...but impossible for hobby/commercial breeding or pets.
There has been legislation introduced and discussed but never made it to law to allow for captive breeding and obtaining captive bred animals of some of these species...people in Georgia need to get proactive...even the DNR guy I talked to said it makes no sense...but must be changed by the State Legislature...and has been put on the back burner...