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"MIAMI METROZOO
Snakes alive! Want to adopt a python?
Florida wildlife managers are looking for skilled caretakers for pythons and other exotic species to reduce the number of nonnative animals dumped into the delicate Everglades ecosystem.
Posted on Wed, Dec. 12, 2007
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BY CURTIS MORGAN
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e -->
Snakes and other exotic pets no longer welcome at home will be accepted, no questions asked, at MetroZoo in February.
Snakes and other exotic pets no longer welcome at home will be accepted, no questions asked, at MetroZoo in February.
So that adorable little baby python you bought the kids a few Christmases ago has now grown large enough to eat them, and have the dog as dessert?
Florida wildlife managers want to give you -- and any owners of unwanted exotic pets -- an opportunity to legally and humanely get rid of it.
But first, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wants to find that special breed of animal lover willing to give such beasts all the love, care and live rodents they deserve. Through Dec. 21, they're recruiting people in South Florida, especially in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, willing to adopt unwanted exotics.
That will set the stage for the wildlife commission's first nonnative pet amnesty day in South Florida to be held at Miami MetroZoo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 23. Discouraged pet owners can give up an exotic pet, be it a super-sized python or an endlessly chattering parrot, no questions asked.
Jenny Tinnell, a biologist with the commission, expects a bigger and broader array of animals than have been turned in at the agency's two previous events in Clearwater and Orlando, which netted about 60 reptiles, fish and birds.
Scofflaw pet owners in South Florida have illegally dumped so many Burmese pythons into the Everglades over the years that the giant snakes are breeding. They've become a threat to many native species -- even the traditional king of the Glades, the alligator. In one case captured by a memorable 2005 photo that made international news, a python exploded after trying to swallow a gator whole.
''We have been building up toward Miami,'' said Tinnell, who runs the annual events. ``We wanted to get our feet wet a little bit before we took the plunge. I expect to see a wide variety of interesting pets show up.''
The wildlife commission will not ask questions about whether owners have proper permits and will not issue citations. Veterinarians will be on hand to assess animals' health. For the first time, the agency is also accepting exotic mammals as well -- anything but dogs, cats and other typical domestic pets.
''It's no questions asked, no penalties,'' Tinnell said. ``If you want to bring in your chinchilla, your lemur or your monkey, no problem.''
Tinnell aims to build an army of qualified adopters to take animals that others choose to give away -- and not just during the once-a-year amnesty days.
Would-be adopters will have to pass state certification standards, meaning they'll need to prove they have the know-how and equipment to properly care for the animals.
''This is not just a free pet giveaway,'' she said. ``We want people who know what they're doing and have experience with these animals so we can give them to a good home.''
The program is part of an wildlife commission campaign to reduce releases of exotic pets into the wild, spurred in large part by the python boom in South Florida's wilderness. As one of the largest snakes in the world, sometimes topping 20 feet, pythons consume an array of native wildlife. The intruder could upset the natural balance of the Everglades and other wild areas if it continues to spread.
But snakes are only the advance contingent of an invading force of some 400 nonnative species found in Florida. More than 130 have settled in well enough to create offspring that threaten native animals and ecosystems.
Under rules that will go into effect on Jan. 1, the state is making it tougher and more expensive to buy and own six ''species of concerns'' -- Burmese, reticulated, Africa rock and amethystine pythons, green anaconda and the Nile monitor lizard.
Future python purchasers and an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 current owners will be required to get a state permit and have a veterinarian insert a microchip -- similar to the IDs routinely implanted in traditional house pets -- into every one of the cold-blooded critters.
To get the permit, which will be available online through the wildlife commission, buyers would have to fill out a questionnaire assessing their knowledge of snakes capable, when grown, of crushing the life out of an unwary owner.
The rules also will include cage requirements and potential on-site inspections similar to those the state already requires for owners of venomous snakes.
Anyone found illegally releasing, buying or selling snakes, or failing to obtain permits, would face misdemeanor charges, up to a year in jail and a $500 fine."
"MIAMI METROZOO
Snakes alive! Want to adopt a python?
Florida wildlife managers are looking for skilled caretakers for pythons and other exotic species to reduce the number of nonnative animals dumped into the delicate Everglades ecosystem.
Posted on Wed, Dec. 12, 2007
Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY CURTIS MORGAN
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e -->
Snakes and other exotic pets no longer welcome at home will be accepted, no questions asked, at MetroZoo in February.
Snakes and other exotic pets no longer welcome at home will be accepted, no questions asked, at MetroZoo in February.
So that adorable little baby python you bought the kids a few Christmases ago has now grown large enough to eat them, and have the dog as dessert?
Florida wildlife managers want to give you -- and any owners of unwanted exotic pets -- an opportunity to legally and humanely get rid of it.
But first, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wants to find that special breed of animal lover willing to give such beasts all the love, care and live rodents they deserve. Through Dec. 21, they're recruiting people in South Florida, especially in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, willing to adopt unwanted exotics.
That will set the stage for the wildlife commission's first nonnative pet amnesty day in South Florida to be held at Miami MetroZoo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 23. Discouraged pet owners can give up an exotic pet, be it a super-sized python or an endlessly chattering parrot, no questions asked.
Jenny Tinnell, a biologist with the commission, expects a bigger and broader array of animals than have been turned in at the agency's two previous events in Clearwater and Orlando, which netted about 60 reptiles, fish and birds.
Scofflaw pet owners in South Florida have illegally dumped so many Burmese pythons into the Everglades over the years that the giant snakes are breeding. They've become a threat to many native species -- even the traditional king of the Glades, the alligator. In one case captured by a memorable 2005 photo that made international news, a python exploded after trying to swallow a gator whole.
''We have been building up toward Miami,'' said Tinnell, who runs the annual events. ``We wanted to get our feet wet a little bit before we took the plunge. I expect to see a wide variety of interesting pets show up.''
The wildlife commission will not ask questions about whether owners have proper permits and will not issue citations. Veterinarians will be on hand to assess animals' health. For the first time, the agency is also accepting exotic mammals as well -- anything but dogs, cats and other typical domestic pets.
''It's no questions asked, no penalties,'' Tinnell said. ``If you want to bring in your chinchilla, your lemur or your monkey, no problem.''
Tinnell aims to build an army of qualified adopters to take animals that others choose to give away -- and not just during the once-a-year amnesty days.
Would-be adopters will have to pass state certification standards, meaning they'll need to prove they have the know-how and equipment to properly care for the animals.
''This is not just a free pet giveaway,'' she said. ``We want people who know what they're doing and have experience with these animals so we can give them to a good home.''
The program is part of an wildlife commission campaign to reduce releases of exotic pets into the wild, spurred in large part by the python boom in South Florida's wilderness. As one of the largest snakes in the world, sometimes topping 20 feet, pythons consume an array of native wildlife. The intruder could upset the natural balance of the Everglades and other wild areas if it continues to spread.
But snakes are only the advance contingent of an invading force of some 400 nonnative species found in Florida. More than 130 have settled in well enough to create offspring that threaten native animals and ecosystems.
Under rules that will go into effect on Jan. 1, the state is making it tougher and more expensive to buy and own six ''species of concerns'' -- Burmese, reticulated, Africa rock and amethystine pythons, green anaconda and the Nile monitor lizard.
Future python purchasers and an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 current owners will be required to get a state permit and have a veterinarian insert a microchip -- similar to the IDs routinely implanted in traditional house pets -- into every one of the cold-blooded critters.
To get the permit, which will be available online through the wildlife commission, buyers would have to fill out a questionnaire assessing their knowledge of snakes capable, when grown, of crushing the life out of an unwary owner.
The rules also will include cage requirements and potential on-site inspections similar to those the state already requires for owners of venomous snakes.
Anyone found illegally releasing, buying or selling snakes, or failing to obtain permits, would face misdemeanor charges, up to a year in jail and a $500 fine."
