Not completely true. The proposed legislation is to prevent collection for sale of native reptiles.
This was a response to someone from the TPWD about the legislation...
The article is not a hoax, however it blows the proposed regulation way out of proportion and is mistaken in some instances.
Through an error in editing, it is legal to capture for resale and to sell Texas Cornnake which now is recognized by science as Elaphe slowinskii, but in adding this name change, we failed to remove from the proposed blacklist E. guttata which is the Eastern Cornsnake and is not native to Texas. As was stated in the article, this was an error and we are working to have this revised. Cornsnakes would not be on the blacklist when this revision is completed to my understanding.
The article was simply incorrect in contending that garter snakes are non-native to Texas. This species is native to Texas, is generally easy to find, but there is indication that some populations are being impacted by collection.
The regulation would NOT make possession, or even collecting for your own use (maximum 6 specimens) illegal. It prohibits collecting for sale and resale of the animals.
