What It Does and Doesn’t Mean
An upsetting development has taken place within the pet reptile industry. A ban that reptile advocates had long been battling was levied upon four constrictors, despite the questionable science upon which it was based.
Petitions and thousands upon thousands of protests did not sway the Obama administration from partially banning four snakes, acting upon the urging of The Humane Society of the United States and other groups. The banned species are the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus), the northern (P. sebae) and southern (P. natalensis) African rock pythons, and the yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus).
While this federal ruling is in my opinion nonsensical, it is important to understand that the snakes are not banned outright, as some hobbyists have thought. You won’t get into trouble for keeping your pets. As of March 23, 2012, the four snakes will be illegal to import into the U.S. , and it will be illegal to transport them across state lines, but the snakes will not be illegal to own. Of course, the question now is whether or not this ban is only the beginning, with further restrictions affecting increasing numbers of species yet to come. There are already signs that this is so.
The threat of further reptile bans is real. Be vigilant, and do what you can to help fight unnecessary legislation.
