ND Lawmaker wants to ban venomous

This story is related to another story in this post:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...ad.php?t=43699

The incident described there is what brought on this attempt to ban hots in ND. Another example of how one idiot can adversely affect the entire hobby by their actions. And people wonder why everyone makes it their business if someone is keeping illegal animals or shipping hots overnight.
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Lawmaker wants possession of venomous creatures illegal

Associated Press


BISMARCK, N.D. - A state lawmaker here wants to make it illegal to possess venomous animals and insects.

Rep. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck, said North Dakota law prohibits having skunks, raccoons and wolves but not venomous creatures.

Sitte said a constituent asked her to introduce the legislation in response to Bismarck police finding four deadly snakes in an apartment in July.

Andrew Greff and Doug Feist were charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment for having the snakes.

Greff was sentenced to one year with all but six months suspended for having the snakes, and Feist will go to trial on the reckless endangerment charge on Jan. 6.

Greff said he purchased the snakes over the Internet and had them delivered via UPS.

Sitte said the bill would cover cities that don't have ordinances against venomous animals, as well as rural areas.

She said the bill has an exemption for bees. North Dakota typically ranks near the top of the nation in honey production.

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Again, all it takes is one idiot screwing up to ruin it for all the rest.

The ban has been approved by the House and is on the way to the Senate.

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BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota's House has agreed to ban private ownership of poisonous snakes, responding to an incident in which two Bismarck men ordered deadly reptiles over the Internet and then showed them off.

Rep. Dwight Wrangham, R-Bismarck, said the legislation permits someone to keep a poisonous snake only if he or she has a permit from the state veterinarian, intends to use the reptile for education, and has the ability to handle and care for it.

Last July, police found four deadly snakes in a Bismarck apartment. Andrew Greff and Doug Feist were charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment.

The men told authorities they felt safe with the snakes because they lived near a hospital, where they could go if they were bitten.

Representatives chuckled as Wrangham described the reasons for the bill, which was approved 88-0 on Wednesday. It now goes to the Senate for additional review.

"These individuals had taken these snakes to at least one school, under the false premise of getting them identified," Wrangham said. "They knew what they were. They just took them there so they had an excuse to show people what they had."

After the snake incident, Greff lost his left arm in a pipe bomb explosion.

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