Craigslist Burms & Retics seized in FL

[JordanAng420]

A dozen pythons about to be sold illegally on Craig's List were seized by Florida wildlife officials, as part of a crackdown on the huge nonnative snakes that have colonized the Everglades.

Lt. Steve DeLacure, an investigator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, got a tip Monday that the snakes had been advertised on the Internet site.

He offered to buy them and then confiscated eight Burmese pythons and four reticulated pythons, according to a news release from the wildlife service.

Bradley Scott Dean, 19, of New Port Richey, was charged with possession of reptiles of concern without a permit, failure to present a valid wildlife dealer's license and failure to microchip snakes.

The investigation is continuing, and at least one more person may be cited in the case, according to the release. The snakes measures 4 to 9 feet in length.

"This is an example of good investigative work in protecting and preventing reptiles of concern from having a negative impact on the future of Florida's natural resources," said Col. Julie Jones, director of the agency's Division of Law Enforcement.

 

[727geckokid]

I went to school with this Kid and have seen the ads on Craigs List. I had a feeling this was going to happen.. Exactly What we DONT need.... More Bad Publicity.:main_thumbsdown:

 

[sunshinegeckofarm]

exactly. Since they are a invasive species they need to have tougher regulations on them and not make them so easy to obtain. I do have seen the ads on CL dont know the person personally or anything. I feel bad for those hurt by these snakes but its because of bad husbandry that this stuff happens and until people own up to their responsibilies its going to keep happening. They are beautiful animals but snakes of that size only belong in their native habitat or zoos or in professional hands only they are not for the novice snake owners or everyday people, they are far too big and potential to be dangerous to humans and animals alike. people should stick with your smaller snakes and if they have big snakes like these then if they can't handle them any longer find a proper place for it instead of setting it loose where its not native because it will effect our environment here. sorry for the long winded reply thats just my feelings on these big snakes they are cool but i think they should be left to pros and zoos or in their native country.

Danielle

 

[Wolfyhound]

So you disregard the facts that there are something like 100,000 kept responsibly in the US without ever having a incident or deliberate releases? We should punish all the responsible burm keepers because of a tiny handful of death over a 29 year period, and the fact that the Everglades has a population from a hurricane destroying facilities?

So you also don't support people owning horses right? They get way larger, and they injure and kill several people a YEAR. The average death by large constrictor is about 0.5 a year.

Punishing all the people who are doing it right, and doing it well, and staying within the laws and regulations is NOT the way to go. How would you feel if they decided to take away your pets because people let leos get loose in Florida?

If you live in Florida, then you should realize that there's already legislation in effect to make people get permits and have the snakes microchipped for the giants and nile monitors in Florida. It's in the article, because THAT'S why the guy was busted, he had no permits, and no microchips and was trying to sell giants.

 

[sunshinegeckofarm]

Again i think it should still be regulated better with the permits and stuff. Personally I dont think leos could survive in Florida in wild not to mention i dont think any of the CB leos would fare to well in the wild anymore the morphs are not camoflaged therefore would become meals for any other animal that eats lizards of the same size. Yes its bad to punish those that do good but maybe give them a option to get a certain permit and have all that own & breed these snakes they are mircochipped all hatchlings included and anyone that buys them must change it over to them and have permits and have their enclosures checked at least on a yearly basis. its not only a problem with incidents in this country with these big snakes in their native countries they attack people and their pets or whatever they have there I have seen many shows on that stuff on tv so its not just the CB ones that pose a problem. i just think when its big enough to kill humans then i think it needs to be regulated better because i dont think anyone wants to find a big burmese python in their house because someone down the road decided to let it loose or was not keeping it in the right kind of enclosure with the proper procautions for it not to escape and if it did escape its cage then have the room locked with no ways of it escaping there at least so its contained and can be caught and placed back into its cage. i know there are laws already but they need to be tougher when they are dangerous animals when they are hungry. I mean no offense to anyone but i hate hearing that kids or anyone gets hurt for other peoples stupidity and that they didnt follow the law and get permits and sells them w/o permits and probably didnt see whether the buyers had permits or not .. this just how i feel on this.