Snake owners passionate about their pythons
BY LINDA LOMBARDI | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Owners of pet snakes don't expect a lot of sympathy from outsiders. So when headlines like "Feds move to ban pythons and boas" started to show up on message boards and blogs, the hobbyist community caught fire. Hundreds rushed to post messages decrying the possibility of adding pythons and boas to the list of species that it's illegal to import or transport between states.
Snakes are more popular pets than you might believe. An estimated 4.8 million American households own one or more pet reptiles, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
Although some special expertise is needed, the care of snakes is not time consuming, and for many who are fascinated by them, it's hard to stop at just one. Some species are even bred for special colors and patterns, like more familiar pets.
The Fish and Wildlife Service says it is just gathering information about which species might be of environmental concern at the moment, and what the economic impacts might be. No new rules have been proposed. The agency is accepting public comments until April 30, and if any new species end up being proposed to add to the regulated list, there will be another comment period at that point.
The inquiry began after Florida began coping with a growing number of released Burmese pythons.
Snake expert David Barker of Texas, says that these snakes, which can grow to 20 feet long and over 200 pounds, are valuable when they're small and when very large. But in between, at about 8-10 feet in length, owners often find that they've become a handful, and are unable to sell them.
"They get irritable - they're teenagers," he says. "You can't get rid of one, you can't give it away."
This can lead irresponsible owners to release their pet into the wild.
Linda Friar of Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Park says the problem there has been increasing: in 1993, they found only about 27 of these snakes, but in 2007 the number was 250, and the educated guess is that "for every one we find, they are 10 more."
Officials are concerned about possible effects of these snakes on native species.
Snake enthusiasts like Barker, author of two books and numerous scientific articles, don't discount environmental issues.
But it's understandable that snake owners react strongly to the threat of legislation, given the confusing patchwork of widely varying local and state laws that affect them.
Regulating snakes as "wildlife" also raises the question of how long an animal must be bred in captivity before it is no longer considered wild.
But hobbyists are passionate in their defense of the rewards of keeping snakes - and the freedom for responsible owners to make their own choice about which animals share their lives. As one poster to the government Web site put it, "Not everyone is a puppy, kitten sort of person."
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service species inquiries:
www.fws.gov/contaminants/ANS/
ANSInjurious.cfm
David Barker:
http://vpi.com/
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...803230328/1079
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