MIAMI (AP) — A nationwide ban on importing four giantsnake species or transporting them across
state lines is costing reptilebreeders, handlers, hobbyists and vendors millions and should beoverturned,
according to a lawsuit filed by a reptile industry tradeassociation.The ban on Burmese pythons, yellow
anacondas, andnorthern and southern African pythons was announced last year in theFlorida Everglades, which
officials say pythons regard as anall-you-can-eat wildlife buffet where they have no competition
excepthumans.A lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Washington,D.C., seeks to overturn the ban. The
North Carolina-based United StatesAssociation of Reptile Keepers says the ban is unnecessary andchallenges
the science behind it. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell andthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are named as
defendants.Theban applies a one-size-fits-all approach to a problem primarilyaffecting South Florida, said
Joan Galvin, the attorney representing thereptile keepers.Florida’s population of Burmese pythons, whichare
native to India and other parts of Asia, likely developed from petslet loose either intentionally or in the
aftermath of Hurricane Andrewin 1992.The snakes don’t adapt to cold weather, which means theywouldn’t last
long anywhere else in winter. "Anywhere, pretty much,outside of Florida, they would have zero survival
skills and would notpose a problem," Galvin said Monday.According to the lawsuit, aninitial proposal to
ban nine snake species cost the reptile industrytens of millions of dollars as buyers shied away from
spending money onpets they might not be able to move to another state. Some of theassociation’s members
euthanized brood stock they couldn’t care for inan evaporating market.Five species, including boa
constrictorsand other anacondas, eventually were dropped from the ban but remainunder consideration.Ken
Warren, a spokesman for the wildlifeservice, said the ban will help prevent non-native snakes from
spreadingand protects native wildlife. The snakes can grow to be roughly 20 feetlong or longer, and
officials have said the threat the snakes pose toindigenous wildlife could undermine the expensive efforts
Florida andthe federal government are making to restore natural water flows to theEverglades."This is
in response to significant ecological impactsobserved as a result of a self-sustaining, wild population of
Burmesepythons in Florida," Warren said. "These snakes have the potential toexpand beyond South
Florida. Large constrictor snakes have demonstratedthat they are highly adaptable to new environments,
consume a largenumber and variety of native species, and dramatically change theecosystems they
invade."Florida law prohibits the possession orsale of Burmese pythons and southern or northern African
pythons, amongother large non-native snakes not included in the federal ban, for useas pets.The reptile
keepers association isn’t interested in challenging the Florida law, Galvin said."Webelieve Florida
stepped up and handled what they perceived was theirissue. As for the 49 other states, we believe this
(federal ban) isinvasive," Galvin said.The Florida Fish and Wildlife ConservationCommission allows
hunters with special permits to remove pythons andother exotic reptiles from some state lands. Earlier this
year, astate-sanctioned python hunt attracted worldwide attention but nettedjust 68 of the snakes. Officials
said the monthlong hunt succeeded inraising awareness about Florida’s python problem.State wildlifeofficials
also have intensified efforts to keep a cluster of northernAfrican pythons, also called rock pythons, just
west of Miami fromspreading elsewhere. One of the aggressive snakes killed a Siberianhusky in the dog’s
backyard in September.___Follow Jennifer Kay on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jnkay.Copyright 2013 The
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