The U.S. Fish and Wildlife is backing the addition of nine constrictors to the Lacey Act’s list of Injurious Wildlife. The nine snakes are the same snakes that are featured in S. 373: the Burmese python, reticulated python, four anacondas, Boa constrictor and two African rock pythons. |
I’m assuming anyone reading this is familiar with bill S. 373. If you aren’t, check my past blogs about it, as well as Andrew Wyatt’s “The Reptile Nation” blogs here on ReptileChannel. Over the years various bills have been introduced, but S. 373 is the only one that has passed out of committee, at least that I can remember. This means it has progressed further than any other recent anti-reptile bill on the road to becoming a law. Its next step is to be voted on by Congress and the House of Representatives. It is not known when this will happen; there were estimates that it could be mid-January. As you may know there was a letter-writing campaign – I hope you all participated – and the Reptile Nation remains on full red alert as to the outcome of this nefarious bill.
The latest related news came yesterday, when Ken Salazar, the Secretary of the Interior, announced that U.S. Fish and Wildlife is backing the addition of nine constrictors to the Lacey Act’s list of Injurious Wildlife. The nine snakes are the same snakes that are featured in S. 373: the Burmese python, reticulated python, four anacondas, Boa constrictor and two African rock pythons.
According to a recent USARK bulletin, U.S. Fish and Wildlife will enter its proposal for the addition of these snakes to the Lacey list in the Federal Register in early February. After that happens, the public has 60 days in which to comment. Rest assured that during that time you will see pleas here on ReptileChannel and elsewhere for you, as members of the Reptile Nation (you are, right?), to participate in grass-roots efforts to fight against listing these nine snakes on the Lacey list. There will be surveys meant to gather information that will later be presented to USFWS. You will likely be given access to these surveys. Stay tuned.
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