Did you know that the number of Utahns who want to catch and keep apoisonous snake in their home is growing? To make sure this activity is done safely, the Division of Wildlife Resources is proposing several changes to the state law that governs it.
Utah's five public Regional Advisory Councils want your thoughts about the DWR's ideas. You can read the agency's ideas at
http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_...2010-02-03.pdf .
"The desire to catch venomous snakes in the wild and then breed them in captivity is growing among herpetologists in Utah," said Krissy Wilson, native aquatic species coordinator for the DWR. (Herpetologists are people who enjoy catching and raising snakes.)
Wilson says six rattlesnake species live in Utah. The DWR is proposing that enthusiasts be allowed to catch and keep only the two most common rattlesnakes in the state -- the midget faded rattlesnake and the Great Basin rattlesnake.
To keep those snakes, snake enthusiasts would have to follow a number of safety rules. "Public safety is our main concern," Wilson said. "We don't want a snake to escape from someone's home."
The requirements the DWR is proposing would also limit the number of snakes people could catch in the wild and the number of young the snakes they could produce each year.
Snake enthusiasts would also be required to follow all city or county laws related to keeping and raising poisonous snakes,
You can share your ideas by contacting your RAC chairman by e-mail. E-mail addresses for your RAC members are available at
www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings. Or you can attend the Regional Advisory Council meeting for the Central Region on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Region Conference Center, 1115 N. Main in Springville.
For more information, call the Springville Division of Wildlife Resources office.
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