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Who's allowed to sell a deadly animal, and why wou
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by Kingetula on October 4, 2007
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http://www.slate.com/id/2175249/nav/fix/
Venomous Snakes for Sale
Who's allowed to sell a deadly animal, and why would you ever buy one?
By Morgan Smith
Posted Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007, at 5:56 PM ET
How can you buy a green mamba snake?
A U.S. grand jury indicted a Las Vegas man last Friday for attempting to sell venomous reptiles over the Internet. While searching his home, U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents seized cobras, rattlesnakes, and even seven Eastern green mambas. Is it ever legal to sell a deadly snake?
Yes. In most places, it's not a criminal activity to sell venomous, or "hot," snakes over the Internet, but you do need a government permit. There aren't any federal laws regulating the hot-snake trade; each state controls these transactions through their wildlife or agriculture divisions. (Prospective snake buyers must obtain a similar permit to keep the animals.) State regulations vary widely. Massachusetts, for example, prohibits the sale or husbandry of hot snakes. Other states, including Nevada, grant licenses to sellers and buyers according to their ability to properly handle and house the snakes. (Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of various techniques, like how to use snake hooks, tongs, and other restraints.)
Some federal oversight for the animal trade comes through the Endangered Species Act. You're not allowed to engage in any activity that might harm an animal that appears on the official list; selling an endangered animal for profit usually qualifies as exploitation. As of the writing of this column, no venomous snakes have been designated as endangered species. (Two kinds of hot snakes have been given "threatened" status—the New Mexican ridge-nosed rattlesnake and the Aruba Island rattlesnake; others, like the Eastern diamondback rattler and the Eastern coral snake, qualify for state endangered species lists). The federal government can also control wildlife trade through the Lacey Act, which prohibits the interstate trafficking of animals that have been obtained in violation of state laws.
Bonus Explainer: Who would want to buy a deadly snake, anyway? Researchers, businessmen, educators, and hobbyists. Herpetologists keep these snakes for behavioral, biological, and veterinary research that can assist in conservation efforts. Commercial snake-keepers also buy deadly species to harvest venom. (Medical labs study its painkilling properties and other medical benefits.) Wildlife educators use venomous snakes in public demonstrations about snake safety and identification in the wild. And of course, some hot snake husbandry is motivated by a morbid fascination with the dangerous animals, or the desire to show off.
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RE: Who's allowed to sell a deadly animal, and why
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by Cro on October 4, 2007
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Scott, you left out the best part, the last two lines where they thanked Robbie Keszey of Glades Herp Farm and Chad Minter, author of Venomous Snakes of the Southeast for the information that went into the article.
It is nice to see a journalist actually write a positive article on snakes, and actually research the topic before they publish it.
Technically, it would be best if you add a link to something like this to the News Area of this site, instead of pasting the whole article, as it probably violates a few copyright laws.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Who's allowed to sell a deadly animal, and why
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by Kingetula on October 4, 2007
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Robbie is the man!
Anyway I did post the link but these forums can be a little... well, frustrating at times. The link is at the top right of my post but heck I'll post it again.
http://www.slate.com/id/2175249/nav/fix/
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RE: Who's allowed to sell a deadly animal, and why
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by Kingetula on October 4, 2007
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John, my bad. It took me a minute to understand what you meant. I did a little research and realized what I was told long ago isn't true. At one time I was told (Not at this forum) that you could post news or articles as long as you included a link to the article and all the info like who wrote it. I've been going by that for a long time now till you brought it up.
I read this just a minute ago.
"You cannot legally post entire articles or news in the forum without permission from the copyright holder"
All I can say is that it won’t happen again.
Thanks
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RE: Who's allowed to sell a deadly animal, and why
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by Cro on October 4, 2007
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Scott, the only problem with posting a link to the Reptile News Section here is that there is a 75 character limit to the URL size. If the URL is smaller than that it will post just fine. However, if it is longer, it will get cutt off and not work correctly.
Postings there do not need an managers approval, they show up in the news immediatly.
The character lenght thing seems to be a flaw with the bravenet code that no one seems capable of fixing.
Anyway, if you want to post a link in the news and the site you are posting from has a URL address longer than 75 characters, you can past that URL address into a very kool site called TinyURL.com, and it will shorten it to a usable link that this site can use.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Who's allowed to sell a deadly animal, and why
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by hot_herper on October 7, 2007
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Great Article, but the author did get one part wrong. In the state of Nevada, the only venomous permit that can be obtained by regular citizens is for native venomous, up to 4 of each can be kept, and in the state of Nevada only the Albino's and other color morphs can be sold legally. Any non-native venomous would require a commercial or zoological permit and they are heavily regulated, and almost impossible to get short of college's, medical research, and zoo's/animal parks.
I live in Las Vegas, and the worst part is the animals that were seized will all be put down. The local "zoo" doesn't have the expertise or funding to care for cobras and mamba's and doesn't want them. So unless another zoo or animal park steps up and offers to take them, they will all be put down. If they haven't already.
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