However, the Center for Biological Diversity said Friday the ban doesn’t go far enough. In a statement, the organization criticized the government for not restricting the widely traded boa constrictor, which the group said is displacing native reptiles in Puerto Rico and threatening wildlife in the United States.
“These exotic snakes pose an unacceptable -- and preventable -- risk to our nation’s most treasured natural habitats,” Collette Adkins, an attorney and biologist for the center, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it appears that the agency caved to pressure from snake breeders in its decision not to restrict trade in the boa constrictor -- a snake that is clearly damaging to U.S. wildlife.”