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Chewyy
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Posted: Fri Jan 22nd, 2010 01:28 am |
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Maybe the Government is worried hordes of woman-eating constrictors will emerge from the wild and begin eating America's young females......
U.S. moves to ban ‘alien snakes’
Constrictors pose single biggest threat to environment
updated 8:34 p.m. ET, Wed., Jan. 20, 2010
NEW YORK - Federal officials want to keep nine kinds of constrictor snakes out of the United States, saying they belong to invasive species that pose the single biggest threat to the nation's environment.
"This is the story of the invasion of the snakes in the United States of America," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday, standing near a live python at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
He said the Burmese python and the other "alien snakes" are diestroying some of the nation's most treasured — and most fragile — ecosystems.
New York is the biggest point of entry in the U.S. for imported wildlife, the secretary said. The ban covers any kind of import of invasive snakes into the U.S.
In 2009, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inspectors at Kennedy handled more than 27,000 separate wildlife shipments valued at more than $1 billion, or 16 percent of all U.S. wildlife imports.
Last year, 54,000 live reptiles entered through the New York airport.
The proposed ban covers nine species of giant constrictor snakes including the Burmese, North African and South African pythons, the boa constrictor, and the anaconda — green, yellow and Bolivian, as listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
About 1 million such snakes have been imported in the past 30 years and even more bred domestically.
Popular pets
The snakes are popular as pets but destructive when released into the wild — especially in sensitive ecosystems like Florida's Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys. Having no natural predators, the adaptable snakes breed and feed on alligators and other imperiled species whose remains have been found in their stomachs. Video
"This is an important day for conservation in the United States," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Sam Hamilton.
He joined Salazar at a news conference in a Kennedy customs warehouse where the live python was on display along with a collection of intercepted snakeskins.
Teams of two open and examine shipments of snakes and other animals — wearing gloves and using a crowbar to open crates containing potentially dangerous creatures.
The ban proposal will be open to public comment for 60 days before a final decision is made.
An invasive species can be any kind of living organism not native to an ecosystem and that causes harm — from amphibians like the cane toad to plants, insects, fish, fungus and bacteria.
The legislation to ban the snakes was introduced in Congress by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla.
The Burmese python thrives in south Florida and a population of boa constrictors live south of Miami, while recent evidence suggests northern African pythons are reproducing on the city's western boundaries.
Hamilton said he hopes the nine snake species will soon join the list of illegal wildlife trafficking that includes poisonous snakes.
At Kennedy, inspectors handle all snakes as if they were poisonous — in case the documents accompanying them don't match the wriggling goods packed in sacks inside wooden crates.
Across the country, more than 169,700 shipments of wildlife and wildlife products came in last year, with an estimated value of $2.7 billion.
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Seplicar
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| Joined: | Sat Jan 14th, 2006 |
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Posted: Sat Jan 23rd, 2010 02:36 am |
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Some receint regulations designed to make life difficult for the casual giant snake owner.
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The regulations for Reptiles of Concern (ROC) went into effect January 1, 2008. These ROC regulations list the ROCs and address licensing, micro chipping, record keeping and caging requirements.
The ROCs that are regulated include the following and subspecies or hybrids thereof:
(a) Indian or Burmese python (Python molurus)
(b) Reticulated python (Python reticulatus)
(c) African rock python (Python sebae)
(d) Amethystine or Scrub python (Morelia amethystinus)
(e) Green anacondas (Eunectes murinus)
(f) Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus)
The caging requirements have been increased. You are required to have your ROC permanently identified by microchip.
A license is required to possess a ROC. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older and the cost of the license is $100 per year.
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-- Seplicar
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Paladin487
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Posted: Sat Jan 23rd, 2010 04:44 am |
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Personaly I think its stupid to ban them, Most if not all would not survive the winter in the event that they did escape, except for the lower states of course like FL but thier ecosystem is already a lost cause at this point for invasive creatures.
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wildpegasus
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Posted: Wed Jan 27th, 2010 05:46 am |
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| You know what's really interesting is they are worried that two different species of python in the Everglades may inter-breed and create a "super snake".
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David Argall
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Posted: Wed Jan 27th, 2010 08:56 pm |
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The super snake idea is pretty much hysteria. Assuming the two snakes can breed at all, which is at least questionable, the very fact there are these two snakes shows the parents are each distinctly superior to the mixed offspring. Outside of a zoo or other human activity, such mixes can't compete.
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Nugget
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Posted: Wed Jan 27th, 2010 09:20 pm |
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Why they don't simply tell the owners to castrate the snakes? It should be made a regulation: "If you want to have a snake, castrate it."
That way, if it escapes, it wouldn't reproduce, and it wouldn't generate more problems.
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greeneyes
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Posted: Thu Jan 28th, 2010 03:39 am |
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| A quick check of the lifespan of snakes, large breeds can live from 25 to 40 years, that's a lot of time to be on the watch for your children, pets, livestock as well as yourself!
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Vorple
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| Location: | South Florida, USA |
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Posted: Thu Jan 28th, 2010 06:43 am |
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South Florida actually had some below freezing temps this winter. It wasn't so good for the pythons. I think they'll need an influx of fresh food.
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mbu17
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Posted: Fri Jan 29th, 2010 03:14 am |
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wildpegasus wrote:
You know what's really interesting is they are worried that two different species of python in the Everglades may inter-breed and create a "super snake".
Worried? How would that be anything less than pure unadulterated Awesome?
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Vorple
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Posted: Sun Feb 7th, 2010 06:34 am |
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mbu17 wrote: wildpegasus wrote:
You know what's really interesting is they are worried that two different species of python in the Everglades may inter-breed and create a "super snake".
Worried? How would that be anything less than pure unadulterated Awesome? Or a SciFi Channel movie.
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Falsdoon
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Posted: Mon Feb 8th, 2010 01:39 pm |
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If they are really truely concerned about theses snakes the answer is quite simple. Make hunting the beasties illegal and the pouchers will solve the problem overnight.  I just wish that was a faciltous comment on the workings of the world......
Falsdoon
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Histah
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Posted: Mon Feb 8th, 2010 11:54 pm |
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Falsdoon wrote: If they are really truely concerned about theses snakes the answer is quite simple. Make hunting the beasties illegal and the pouchers will solve the problem overnight. I just wish that was a faciltous comment on the workings of the world......
Falsdoon
Seems to me they are a little late if there are already estblished populations of these critters.
Actually legal hunting is an excellent method of trimming wildlife populations.Especially if there's a good price for their skins.Of course the animal rights bunch will have a fit.
Last edited on Mon Feb 8th, 2010 11:59 pm by Histah
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fetoani7
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Posted: Sun Feb 21st, 2010 07:06 pm |
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Getting back to the serious issue at hand.
I think we should find an extremely attractive method to encourage more young women to go to Florida.
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David Argall
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Posted: Sun Feb 21st, 2010 08:54 pm |
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A more recent report is that large numbers of these foreign critters are dying from Florida having a 'cold' winter.
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Vorple
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Posted: Sat Apr 10th, 2010 06:42 am |
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The only hope we have of saving them is a fresh influx of food... or as we like to call it 'Spring Break'.
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veeshan123
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Posted: Sat Apr 10th, 2010 01:27 pm |
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Kidding aside, it's good that the cold snap killed most of them. The only downside is that the survivors will just breed back up and take over again.
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greeneyes
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Posted: Sat Apr 10th, 2010 08:54 pm |
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My dad was always against invasive snakes like most dads are with their daughters!  Attachment: ahun3l.jpg (Downloaded 56 times)
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psychoboy07
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Posted: Sat Apr 10th, 2010 09:30 pm |
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greeneyes wrote: My dad was always against invasive snakes like most dads are with their daughters!
I was wondering when that joke was going to come up. Well-phrased, greeneyes.
- Ben
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