|
1-10 of 10 messages
|
Page 1 of 1
|
|
Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by wls967 on July 29, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
SARASOTA (FOX 13) -
Wildlife officials seized seven venomous snakes from a man who they say was not licensed to have them.
Nick Mitchell, 20, is now charged with unlawful possession of seven venomous reptiles, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He also charged with several other violations related to the care, keeping and labeling of his animals, FWC said.
The animals include:
-- a gila monster,
-- a black monocled cobra,
-- a rhino viper,
-- a dusky pygmy rattlesnake,
-- a black neck spitting cobra
-- two banded cobras
Each violation Mitchell is charged with is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 in fines and up to 60 days in jail.
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/26144509/photos-venomous-snakes-seized-from-sarasota-home
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by BlackMamba88 on July 29, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
Its a real shame America has come to this. A once a great country of decent people founded on principles of freedom and liberty has devolved into a narcissistic corrupt police state where hard working Americans are arrested and put in jail for the animals they keep. It's disgusting, individuals are more then capable of deciding what animals they are capable of having in their possession. Its only going to get worse unless people start sticking up for themselves and each other. It reminds me of the saying: we can hang together or hang separately.
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by BlackMamba88 on July 29, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
It really boggles my mind that someone can be arrested and dragged out of their house because they own a "snake." Law makers have really lost their mind and so have the police. If I was a cop I would resign before I arrested someone for owning a snake without a license. What ever happened to solving real crime ?
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by rattler182 on August 9, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
Having lived in Florida for 14 years, I knew that there were permitting requirements and invested the time to comply. If this person would have done so as well we reptile keepers would not be as vilified. It the up to us to be responsible and play by the rules. If we don't we could all lose our rights to keep even basic stuff like leopard geckos it corn snakes.
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by rattler182 on August 9, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
Having lived in Florida for 14 years, I knew that there were permitting requirements and invested the time to comply. If this person would have done so as well we reptile keepers would not be as vilified. It the up to us to be responsible and play by the rules. If we don't we could all lose our rights to keep even basic stuff like leopard geckos and corn snakes.
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by atrox84 on August 9, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
I don't really understand what people are upset about. These are extremely dangerous animals and, in the wrong hands, could severly injure or even kill an innocent person. Florida has perfectly logical rules when it comes to venomous snake ownership and if he really wanted to keep them he should have gone about it the legal way, but he didn't so his snakes were confiscated. I personally keep and breed many hot species, but if I'm really being realistic, there should be some barriers in place to keep that 16 year old kid that's kept a few ball pythons, but now wants to step it up so he buys a forest cobra. Many Australian states have very reasonable laws in place in which they have a level 1-5 (could be wrong on the scale) where people just starting out with hots begin at level 1 and are permitted to keep a few of the less lethal species. If you are serious about the hobby and put in your time at each level you can work your way up to level 5 snakes (oxyuranus, pseudonaja, etc.). Maybe one of our Australian members can speak to this a little better than I can. Since this is the rout that most hot keepers go anyway, what would be the problem with something like this in place? All it would do is keep that kid that wants to show off to his friends so he buys an albino kaouthia from getting himself or one of his friends killed.
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by BlackMamba88 on August 11, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
You don't understand what people are upset about ? These are dangerous animals that could kill somebody ? Are you kidding me ? The Entire state of Florida is crawling with venomous snakes that could kill somebody. People can literally walk out their front door and step on a rattle snake or a coral snake and die. The police just abducted someone from his house because he didnt have a permit ? He shouldn't need one. Statistically there is not a high rate ( or even close to high) of people of others dieing or being injured from snakes that people keep as pets. More people die getting in the shower. Perhaps you should need a permit to get in your shower and if you get in your shower without a permit we will have the police raid your house and arrest you. Then when you get mad I will ask: Why you mad bro ?
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by atrox84 on August 11, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
The thing is, people hurting themselves in the shower are hurting THEMSELVES. I'll admit that the danger is extremely low that a neighbor or guest in a home will be bitten, but however low, there is still that possibility. To make the argument that there are already venomous snakes in Florida so that means anyone should be able to keep anything they want makes ZERO sense. Those are native snakes, not exotic species. A bite from an exotic species is potentially much more dangerous especially if the snake isn't identified. Again, I keep hots myself and I don't think they should be banned, but if I'm being realstic, there should be some steps that should be taken before a person can go buy a N. melanoleuca and keep it in a 20gal aquarium with a brick on top to keep it from escaping. Senarios like that are the kinds that will cause ALL hots to be banned period. I would think that most hot keepers would welcome some slight regulation just to keep out the irresponsible keepers that threaten the hobby. The bottom line is that if there is ANY threat to public health, however small that might be, then it should be monitored. You've got to remember that most people are not comfortable knowing that their neighbor is keeping 100 of the most toxic animals on earth. Even if we hot keepers know that that fear is irrational, that person has the right to not be scared for his families life should a snake escape. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable if my neighbor was keeping several tigers and lions in the yard next to mine, but I'm sure the keeper would tell me that it's perfectly safe and I have nothing to worry about. We as keepers have a responsibility to follow the rules and keep the public safe from our animals. The article even says that the man was also charged with violations related to care, keeping, and labeling. So I think it's safe to assume that this person probably wasn't living up to what most of us hot keepers would consider proper saftey.
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by BlackMamba88 on August 12, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
" ANY threat to public health, however small that might be, then it should be monitored (Regulated)." This is absurd logic. By this logic I can justify anything including a complete Orwellian police state no rights draconian hell hole country. Why not have permits to buy dogs or cats ? Statistically, way more dogs and cats gets loose and injure people a year then snakes. Why not have permits to use plastic bags. Statistically, more kids die from people leaving plastic bags around then from snakes. Why not ban Legos. Plenty of kids choke on those. You follow my drift ? Even if the snakes gets out it will probably slither away never to be seen again or get an infection (since its non native) and die. The odds of it getting out and biting someone are close to 0. Especially in states where the climate gets cold.
Another thing your not understanding is "registration leads to confiscation." Ever here that motto. These people in the government and that work for animal rights organizations like PETA dont care about safety or you. They have an agenda to get votes and ban all animal ownership by their own admission. If they can't do it all at once they will do it incrementally one new regulation at a time until they make it impossible to own animals. In NY they made a permit. We all said "ok rational." Then the unelected DEC started adding regulations that we couldn't purchase or sell snakes in NY, that we couldn't breed our snakes, that they could come in our houses at any time and confiscate our snakes for any reason. then they just stopped giving out permits to people. I am lucky to even have one. WTF is the reason for this. Not a single person has been injured as the result of someone's snake escaping in the last decade ! Your completely wrong for siding with the government these people aren't your friends or sympathetic to your interest. We can hang together or hang seperetly.
|
| |
|
RE: Venomous snakes seized from Sarasota home
|
Reply
|
|
by BlackMamba88 on August 12, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
"To make the argument that there are already venomous snakes in Florida so that means anyone should be able to keep anything they want makes ZERO sense. Those are native snakes, not exotic species. A bite from an exotic species is potentially much more dangerous especially if the snake isn't identified"."
No, I was completely right for making this argument. True there are some exotics that may be more venomous but there are also exotics that may be much less venomous. Either way, the toxicity is irrelevent. Every snake bite is a life threatening emergency. Whether someone gets bit by a coral snake or a coral cobra makes little difference. There is probably more antivenin available for the exotic species then the native as zoos are required by law to keep antivenom on hand http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/alex-hern/2012/10/us-runs-out-coral-snake-anti-venom
"A bite from an exotic species is potentially much more dangerous especially if the snake isn't identified". Well what if the native species wasnt identified ? Was it an eastern diamond back, a coral snake, a copperhead, a cotton mouth ? Who knows ? Your in the same boat. They are going to have to run test and figure it out either way.
"To make the argument that there are already venomous snakes in Florida so that means anyone should be able to keep anything they want makes ZERO sense."
No it makes complete sense. Again,
why would you care that I keep a Coral cobra if a rattle snake or eastern coral snake are not only just as likely, but more likely to crawl into your house then my snake. And again, just because my snake gets out doesnt mean that its going to go directly to your house to kill you. It will probably go under a rock never to be seen again. You give these people way to much credit.
|
| |
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
Check our help page for help using
, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the
Manager.
|
