Clay Davenport
12-31-2004, 03:56 AM
CLEVELAND -- A state requirement to tag and license cold-blooded creatures native to Ohio is irritating animal collectors, including a Mansfield man.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources passed the regulation to protect endangered species from illegal collection and sales, said Ron Ollis, a law enforcement officer for the department.
The sale and possession of endangered reptiles and amphibians is overseen by the state Division of Wildlife. The office requires that the native animals, including snakes more than 18 inches long, be injected with a passive integrated transponder, or PIT. The device is similar to identification tags used on dogs and cats.
Mike Hazey, who owns about 80 poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes, said he knew about the regulations but was surprised when ODNR agents knocked on his Brunswick door this fall. The visit resulted in Hazey, 42, appearing before a judge in Medina Municipal Court. He was charged with a misdemeanor wildlife violation for not having the licenses.
Hazey objects to the regulations and says the needle used to inject the snakes is invasive and dangerous.
"It's a little like the gun regulations," Hazey said. "The law-abiding citizens will get their permits, but the bad guys, the ones who really need to be caught, won't."
By the time Hazey appeared before Judge Dale Chase in October, all but his four venomous snakes had their PIT tags. Chase fined him $250 and gave him until the end of the year to comply, which he did last month. He said one snake died shortly after the procedure.
Mansfield resident Mark Hersman fell afoul of the regulation and got a visit from Ohio Department of Natural Resources officers in September.
A former ODNR wildlife officer, Hersman built Wild- life Gardens in the back yard of his Logan Road home in 1989.
Terry Sunderhaus, ODNR district law-enforcement supervisor, said investigators visited Hersman and determined many of the turtles were not tagged with a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag.
At the time, Hersman had about 66 turtles. He said Wednesday ODNR's inspection heavily disrupted their specific hibernation areas.
"I don't know if any will be alive in the spring," he said.
Hersman faced misdemeanor failure-to-tag char- ges in Mansfield Municipal Court in October. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty. The case has not been decided.
Many reptile collectors and hobbyists agree native Ohio reptiles need protection but say the law isn't the way to do it. Ohio is the only state that requires PIT tags.
"The very people who are supposed to be protecting them are killing them," said Terry Wilkins, director of the International Herps Lobby. His group says that infections result from the tagging or that the tag could break free and float through the snake's body.
Wilkins, who also was fined for violating the requirement, sat on the state advisory board that helped develop the law passed in 2000. He unsuccessfully challenged the law before Franklin County Environmental Judge Harlan Hale in October. Now, his group is lobbying lawmakers to re- write it.
Dan Schneider, the ODNR's chief law enforcement officer, said Tuesday that the state has prosecuted very few violators since enacting the rule. An undercover operation that ticketed several people at a Columbus reptile show in 2003 helped bring attention to the rule, he said.
"It's gotten huge media attention so I think everybody in the reptile world is aware of our pet tagging requirement. Whether they are compliant or not is another issue," Schneider said.
Wilkins said studies show the tags result in low reproduction rates and cause cancer and other health problems in the reptiles.
Dr. Rob Nathan of the Sharon Center Veterinary Hospital, which handles exotic animals, said problems with the chip could result from improper injection.
"If put in properly, they should not migrate," he said. "But can they travel? Absolutely.
"I have seen them move, but typically they should not move."
People who find snakes and box turtles and keep them as pets also are subject to the ODNR regulations.
Link (http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/news/stories/20041230/localnews/1805534.html)
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources passed the regulation to protect endangered species from illegal collection and sales, said Ron Ollis, a law enforcement officer for the department.
The sale and possession of endangered reptiles and amphibians is overseen by the state Division of Wildlife. The office requires that the native animals, including snakes more than 18 inches long, be injected with a passive integrated transponder, or PIT. The device is similar to identification tags used on dogs and cats.
Mike Hazey, who owns about 80 poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes, said he knew about the regulations but was surprised when ODNR agents knocked on his Brunswick door this fall. The visit resulted in Hazey, 42, appearing before a judge in Medina Municipal Court. He was charged with a misdemeanor wildlife violation for not having the licenses.
Hazey objects to the regulations and says the needle used to inject the snakes is invasive and dangerous.
"It's a little like the gun regulations," Hazey said. "The law-abiding citizens will get their permits, but the bad guys, the ones who really need to be caught, won't."
By the time Hazey appeared before Judge Dale Chase in October, all but his four venomous snakes had their PIT tags. Chase fined him $250 and gave him until the end of the year to comply, which he did last month. He said one snake died shortly after the procedure.
Mansfield resident Mark Hersman fell afoul of the regulation and got a visit from Ohio Department of Natural Resources officers in September.
A former ODNR wildlife officer, Hersman built Wild- life Gardens in the back yard of his Logan Road home in 1989.
Terry Sunderhaus, ODNR district law-enforcement supervisor, said investigators visited Hersman and determined many of the turtles were not tagged with a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag.
At the time, Hersman had about 66 turtles. He said Wednesday ODNR's inspection heavily disrupted their specific hibernation areas.
"I don't know if any will be alive in the spring," he said.
Hersman faced misdemeanor failure-to-tag char- ges in Mansfield Municipal Court in October. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty. The case has not been decided.
Many reptile collectors and hobbyists agree native Ohio reptiles need protection but say the law isn't the way to do it. Ohio is the only state that requires PIT tags.
"The very people who are supposed to be protecting them are killing them," said Terry Wilkins, director of the International Herps Lobby. His group says that infections result from the tagging or that the tag could break free and float through the snake's body.
Wilkins, who also was fined for violating the requirement, sat on the state advisory board that helped develop the law passed in 2000. He unsuccessfully challenged the law before Franklin County Environmental Judge Harlan Hale in October. Now, his group is lobbying lawmakers to re- write it.
Dan Schneider, the ODNR's chief law enforcement officer, said Tuesday that the state has prosecuted very few violators since enacting the rule. An undercover operation that ticketed several people at a Columbus reptile show in 2003 helped bring attention to the rule, he said.
"It's gotten huge media attention so I think everybody in the reptile world is aware of our pet tagging requirement. Whether they are compliant or not is another issue," Schneider said.
Wilkins said studies show the tags result in low reproduction rates and cause cancer and other health problems in the reptiles.
Dr. Rob Nathan of the Sharon Center Veterinary Hospital, which handles exotic animals, said problems with the chip could result from improper injection.
"If put in properly, they should not migrate," he said. "But can they travel? Absolutely.
"I have seen them move, but typically they should not move."
People who find snakes and box turtles and keep them as pets also are subject to the ODNR regulations.
Link (http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/news/stories/20041230/localnews/1805534.html)