Clay Davenport
11-22-2003, 01:38 AM
The article pasted below seems quite benign, and due to my work/sleep schedule I was unable to see the television brodcast of this report.
I did however hear the teasers on the radio advertising the broadcast and it was disturbing.
The radio commercial, done in a menacing voice started with these words, "Snakes, deadly snakes. Before you go to your neighbors for a cup of sugar, you should know they may have one."
Sound clips from the story included a man saying "I can't believe these things aren't regulated." and another fellow saying "It's like selling a gun."
These tidbits suggested to me that it was definately a sensational story, and the fact it aired on the 6 o'clock news on WSOC-TV ensured that many had their fears and ignorance fed by seeing it.
If anyone actually was able to watch the broadcast, I'd like to hear your report of it. Bringing things like this before a fearful public in such a sensationalistic manner can easily result in a public demand for laws to be passed and it concerns me.
Here is the text of the online printing which again is very benign compared to the radio advertisement I heard about every hour during the day it was shown:
FORT MILL, S.C. -- Deadly snakes once found only in books or on nature shows are living in pet shops in the Charlotte area.
They're shipped from overseas and most are far deadlier than the ones most are familiar with.
Bruce Eisenmann is the owner of an exotic reptile shop in Fort Mill.
One of the snakes Eisenmann showed Eyewitness News was a black, spitting cobra.
There's no state law in South Carolina, so Eisenmann can sell cobras, vipers and local venomous snakes like water moccasins and rattlesnakes.
Native snakes such as rattlesnakes and moccasins are poisonous, but not as potent as many African snakes.
Greg Maggart runs a store called Herp Aqua in Rock Hill.
Maggart sells pythons, rat snakes, king snakes and some highly venomous snakes.
Maggart said the snakes should not be sold to "just anybody."
Both storeowners sell over the Internet -- which is legal in most states -- and to people they judge capable of handling the snakes.
Neither will sell to anyone under 18 and they interview buyers first.
But sometimes, it's beyond their control.
In January, someone stole a deadly gaboon viper from Herp Aqua.
Fortunately it was recovered, because even a non-fatal bite is crippling.
For now, nowhere does the phrase "buyer beware" apply more.
Except for some minor details, North Carolina's state law is the same as South Carolina's.
However, by county ordinance, poisonous snakes are illegal in Mecklenburg County.
Reptile dealers can import snakes from countries all over the world, as long as the animals aren't protected in those countries.
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http://www.wsoctv.com/specialreports/2645817/detail.html
I did however hear the teasers on the radio advertising the broadcast and it was disturbing.
The radio commercial, done in a menacing voice started with these words, "Snakes, deadly snakes. Before you go to your neighbors for a cup of sugar, you should know they may have one."
Sound clips from the story included a man saying "I can't believe these things aren't regulated." and another fellow saying "It's like selling a gun."
These tidbits suggested to me that it was definately a sensational story, and the fact it aired on the 6 o'clock news on WSOC-TV ensured that many had their fears and ignorance fed by seeing it.
If anyone actually was able to watch the broadcast, I'd like to hear your report of it. Bringing things like this before a fearful public in such a sensationalistic manner can easily result in a public demand for laws to be passed and it concerns me.
Here is the text of the online printing which again is very benign compared to the radio advertisement I heard about every hour during the day it was shown:
FORT MILL, S.C. -- Deadly snakes once found only in books or on nature shows are living in pet shops in the Charlotte area.
They're shipped from overseas and most are far deadlier than the ones most are familiar with.
Bruce Eisenmann is the owner of an exotic reptile shop in Fort Mill.
One of the snakes Eisenmann showed Eyewitness News was a black, spitting cobra.
There's no state law in South Carolina, so Eisenmann can sell cobras, vipers and local venomous snakes like water moccasins and rattlesnakes.
Native snakes such as rattlesnakes and moccasins are poisonous, but not as potent as many African snakes.
Greg Maggart runs a store called Herp Aqua in Rock Hill.
Maggart sells pythons, rat snakes, king snakes and some highly venomous snakes.
Maggart said the snakes should not be sold to "just anybody."
Both storeowners sell over the Internet -- which is legal in most states -- and to people they judge capable of handling the snakes.
Neither will sell to anyone under 18 and they interview buyers first.
But sometimes, it's beyond their control.
In January, someone stole a deadly gaboon viper from Herp Aqua.
Fortunately it was recovered, because even a non-fatal bite is crippling.
For now, nowhere does the phrase "buyer beware" apply more.
Except for some minor details, North Carolina's state law is the same as South Carolina's.
However, by county ordinance, poisonous snakes are illegal in Mecklenburg County.
Reptile dealers can import snakes from countries all over the world, as long as the animals aren't protected in those countries.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.wsoctv.com/specialreports/2645817/detail.html