Bill Nelson’s bill to ban giant constrictors cleared a Senate panel today, setting it up for a full Senate vote. His bill would make it illegal to import 9 dangerous snakes, including Burmese pythons, anacondas and boa constrictors.
The green anaconda has been found in the Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida. And a pet python killed a two-year-old Florida girl in her crib. Nelson’s bill originally targeted pythons because they are spreading in the Everglades. But he recently asked the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to ban 9 constrictors that pose the greatest threat to native species. Nelson says a new federal report cited the risks posed by pythons, anacondas and boa constrictors and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar backs a broader ban.
The United States Association of Reptile Keepers, however, calls the report "questionable science" and ssays Nelson abandoned an "agreement in principle" to limit the ban.
"It is a real shame that Senator Nelson has changed his position on this issue," said the group's president, d Andrew Wyatt. It estimates that if the bill passes, 4 million boas and pythons in captivity "would be rendered valueless overnight with no provisions for disposition or compensation."
But Nelson says even more needs to be done to regulate foreign plants and animals in the U.S.: "As stewards of our country’s vast public lands and natural resources we have to deal with the threats posed by invasive species."
Rep. Kendrick Meek has filed a snake bill similar to Nelson’s in the House.
Related posts: