The man was cited for possession of wildlife as a pet and possessing dangerous wildlife without a permit.
A Burmese python (Python m. bivittatus) that was seized from its owner for lack of proper permits has found a home at the Fort Rickey Discovery Zoo in Rome, NY. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation received a complaint from someone who believed the snake a man was keeping was illegal to keep in the state. It is illegal to possess the reptile without a permit.
Environment Conservation Police Officer (ECO) Jeff Hull responded to the complaint and when he entered the home, he found the large long python in a 4 to 5 foot enclosure. The snake was in good health and measured 13’2” with a weight of 80lbs.
The man told Hull that he could no longer care for the reptile and wasn’t prepared for the snake to grow so big and so fast. The man was cited for possession of wildlife as a pet and possessing dangerous wildlife without a permit. The snake was seized and then donated to the Fort Rickey Discovery Zoo.
5 Facts About the Burmese Python
The state of New York prohibits the possession of most large constricting snakes except with a permit and only in certain circumstances. The state considers the Burmese python a wild animal. Other animals considered wild by the state include
- Burmese Python (Python m. bivittatus)
- Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus)
- African Rock Python (Python sabae)
- Green Anaconda (Eunectes maurinus)
- Yellow Anaconda (Eunectes notaeus)
- Australian Amethystine Python (Morelia amethistina and Morelia kinghorni)
- Indian Python (Python molurus)
- Asiatic (water) Monitor ( Varanus salvator)
- Nile Monitor ( Varanus nilocitus)
- White Throat Monitor ( Varanus albigularis)
- Black Throat Monitor ( Varanus albigularis ionides) and Crocodile Monitor ( Varanus salvadori)
- Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodensis) and any hybrid thereof…
- Any Crocodylia
