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Irresponsible breeders giving bad rep to all...

Because the RCMP have linked this snake to a local burmese breeder, stating that once the snakes become too big, they are difficult to sell and they are 'abandoned'.
 
It is sad that it was roaming the woods. But I doubt that a breeder dumped it, since the article says that it has been illegal to breed them there for many years. If somebody is breeding them for the black market, then it would be far too valuable to dump anywhere. And since value always goes up whenever anything is banned, I am guessing that some pet owner let it escape. Chances are that it would be valuable enough that the owner would have sold it under the table if he or she didn't want it anymore, rather than just dump it outside where in can survive no more than a few months at best.

Seems really stupid to me to ban exotic, tropical reptiles up north where they could never survive the winter if they escaped or were released. They will never become invasive, and at most will be only a very temporary public nuisance if they do escape. Anytime you ban something instead of introduce REASONABLE regulations, you just force the market underground, where it will remain TOTALLY unregulated. It doesn't matter if you are banning drugs, alcohol, or snakes. Human nature is human nature.
 
Hmm, it seems The Province has since edited the article.
Originally, they said a local breeder had previously been cited for abandoning pythons in the area.
Regardless, yes they need to be licensed and micro-chipped, however who's to say they are micro-chipping every hatchling and snake they breed and own. This rural municipality is plagued with poverty/drugs/grow-ops and you tend to see many puppy mills and other illegal and reckless animal breeders aimed at making a quick buck.

There have been other issues in this area previously with Burmese pythons. They found one dumped at a elementary school last year, and the year before an abandoned Burm was the culprit for several 'missing cats'.
 
kathylove said:
Seems really stupid to me to ban exotic, tropical reptiles up north where they could never survive the winter if they escaped or were released. They will never become invasive, and at most will be only a very temporary public nuisance if they do escape. Anytime you ban something instead of introduce REASONABLE regulations, you just force the market underground, where it will remain TOTALLY unregulated. It doesn't matter if you are banning drugs, alcohol, or snakes. Human nature is human nature.
Click to expand...

I fully agree with you Kathy!
 
"Because the RCMP have linked this snake to a local burmese breeder, stating that once the snakes become too big, they are difficult to sell and they are 'abandoned'."

That doesn't make any sense. I think the article said the python was only 6' long. That is not big. That size could easily be reached in 1 year, unlike what the article stated (5 years). I have raised a couple of babies to 8 - 9' in 1 year, just to see how fast they would grow. If a breeder released all of his pythons when they got to be 6', he wouldn't stay in business very long. And I thought it was illegal to be a breeder there, now? Maybe I missed that part, but that is what I remember. Or maybe the article is inaccurate, which would not be unusual. But none of that sounds logical. My theory seems more logical, unless I misread something in the article.

I would blame irresponsible lawmakers who don't think through law proposals, along with the likely pet keeper who let it escape.
 
"...It has been illegal to buy, breed, import or sell albino pythons in B.C. since 2008 when the laws surrounding exotic pet ownership changed. Owners of existing snakes could apply for a permit, although some owners didn’t bother, said Sara Dubois, BC SPCA’s manager of wildlife services...."


So how are there ANY local breeders now? I don't understand.
 
I didn't like the tone of the article at all. It made it sound like these animals are terrors and invasive. I also didn't like how they made assumptions that just teenager and young men want these large snakes to make themselves seem tough. If this family camping hadn't found the snake, it wouldn't of survived long. Poor thing was suffering with makes my heart hurt. I hope the darling finds a home.
 
"...They found one dumped at a elementary school last year, and the year before an abandoned Burm was the culprit for several 'missing cats'."

As much as I LOVE my kitties - and ANY kitties, for that matter - I have to say that feral or free ranging cats are a wildlife scourge more invasive than all reptiles put together could ever hope to be. I would much prefer to punish the cat owners who DUMP (to use the popular term) their cats outside. But sadly, it is the cats and wildlife who will suffer, not irresponsible owners. Unfortunately, any free roaming cats that are killed by other animals, cars, etc, are cats that won't ravage the environment. I HATE to have to think that way as I am a huge cat lover. But the irresponsible cat owners who cause this tragedy are never called out like the occasional irresponsible snake owner who lets a snake escape. And unlike tropical reptiles, those cats will survive northern winters to increase their numbers, allowing more generations of cats to live a miserable existence while damaging the environment. But the press will side with the dangerous (to the environment) cats while trying to whip up fear over a snake that will not last more than a few months in the Canadian wild. THAT is sad!

BTW - why do they keep saying the snakes are DUMPED or ABANDONED? It is possible, but more likely careless escapes than intentional releases. But I guess it sounds better for the AR cause to say it is a bunch of youngsters and macho men who intentionally release them than to suggest family owners with good intentions, but limited knowledge or facilities that let them escape.
 
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