Rhode Island May Ban Pythons, Boa Constrictors

The Rhode Island state Senate is considering legislation that would ban ownership of boa constrictors, pythons, crocodiles and alligators.

Senate Bill 2033 would make ownership of any such animal punishable by a fine of $1,000 or more.

The legislation also mandates a permit from the state for anyone wishing to import wild animals belonging “of the following orders, families, and genera: primates, carnivores, amphibian, reptilian, canidae, and insect.”

The bill, currently assigned to the Senate’s Environment and Agriculture Committee, would take effect upon passage.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) of Washington, D.C., warned that an outright ban of the species “is unnecessary and will drive trade underground.”

PIJAC urged affected parties to contact Senate committee members with any concerns.

“The state needs to adopt a more sustainable and flexible regulatory mechanism to handle these species and to determine what happens to current owners of these animals,” PIJAC stated in an alert issued today.

The bill does not address animals currently in the state.

PIJAC also contends that none of these species poised an invasive risk in Rhode Island due to the state’s climate.

The Rhode Island ban follows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalizing its rule banning the importation and interstate trade of four species of snakes, including Burmese and northern and southern African pythons. That rule will prevent owners of those snakes from transporting them across state lines, which would limit the options for those owners in Rhode Island if the state approves the legislation as written.

In other Rhode Island news, the state legislature is currently considering a pair of bills that would allow parrots to be microchipped instead of fitted with an identifying band and permit birds exposed to psittacosis to be treated rather than destroyed.