Louisiana Action Alert
Louisiana Senate Bill 357 seeks to ban constrictor and venomous snakes. The constrictor snakes listed below currently require a permit from LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (DW&F) once they reach 8′ and can be kept by private keepers. This bill amends the current law and bans all species listed, regardless of size. The venomous species below would also be illegal to keep and permits would not be available to private keepers. Only certain institutions would be exempt (animal sanctuaries, zoos, aquariums, wildlife research centers, scientific organizations, and medical research facilities as defined by the U.S. Animal Welfare Act). View the Action Alert with bill text at www.usark.org/campaign/2014-louisiana-senate-bill-357-action-alert. Additional legislator contact information is located at www.usark.org/2014-blog/2014-louisiana-senate-bill-357.
This is far overreaching, unconstitutional legislation that turns pet owners into criminals overnight. It would also lead to the immediate euthanization of all Burmese pythons, Southern African pythons, African Rock pythons and Yellow anacondas kept as pets as they are federally listed as injurious under the Lacey Act and cannot be legally transported out of state.
Banned Non-venomous snakes: Carpet and Diamond pythons, Boa constrictors (all subspecies), Reticulated python, Papuan python, Olive python, Scrub python, Amethystine python, Southern African python, African Rock python, Indian and Burmese pythons, and any species of Anaconda
Banned Venomous snakes: Families Viperidae (Pitvipers and Vipers), Elapidae (Cobras and Mambas), Hydrophiidae (Sea Snakes), Atractaspididae (Mole Vipers), as well as the genera Dispholidus, Thelotornis, and Rhabdophis of the Family Colubridae
The bill was introduced on 2/28/14 by Senator Chabert and assigned to the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
Emails, networking with pet owners/businesses/organizations, attendance at public hearings, phone calls, legislator meetings, mailed letters, and faxes should all be happening in mass. Enough voices do make a difference and these bills can stopped. USARK is contacting legislators and we are active on state issues, but they must hear directly from their constituents.
More State Herp-related Bills
On Friday (2/21/14), the Department of the Interior (DOI) responded to USARK’s legal challenge on the current injurious species listings by filing a “Motion to Dismiss” our claims. This was expected and USARK has been preparing for this action. USARK counsel is currently working on our reply which is due within 14 days (March 7). Read the full post at www.usark.org/2014-blog/lawsuit-update-wv-action-alert-and-more.
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