Tiger salamander by Bill Love

The California state Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee held a public hearing on Tuesday, March 25, to discuss legislation that would add to the banned species list.

The bill would repeal and amend the current list of species the state’s Fish and Game Commission uses to determine which types of animals might pose a threat to the state’s native wildlife or that raise an animal welfare concern.

If implemented, residents would be prohibited from possessing, transporting, releasing and importing a number of herps, including all species of the genus Ambystoma, which are the popular tiger salamanders.

Many venomous species would also be prohibited, including all species of the families Elapidae and Viperidae, and most of the family Crotalidae.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council opposes the legislation.

“We feel this list is excessive and could greatly affect the pet industry in California,” it wrote in a Pet Alert. Under the proposal, animals on the list could be imported, transported, possessed or released only under a revocable, nontransferable permit.

Please click here to view a complete list of animals covered by the proposal.

Pay attention to the way the list is organized. For example, when looking at the snakes banned from the family Colubridae, note that only the boomslang is prohibited. Popular pets such as ratsnakes and kingsnakes are not prohibited.