Can herpers fight back and win against unfair legislation targeting our animals? Yes, if you do it right!

Scott Snowden faced new legislation that would have made his pets illegal. A city ordinance was proposed concerning dogs with language attached that would have banned all constricting snakes.

Scott stepped up, addressed the issue and was successful by educating the city officials. His professionalism and dedication were rewarded. Thanks to everyone who supported Scott and thank you, Scott, for being an inspiration to the herp community.

A personal letter from Scott Snowden:

My family and I cannot thank USARK and its members nationwide enough for coming to the aid of responsible snake owners in the Montana town of Laurel. I first contacted USARK on February 28th after learning that our city council was attempting to put language that would ban all constricting snakes within city limits to a proposed dog ordinance. USARK President Phil Goss greatly supported my efforts and spoke with me several times via phone and email. USARK responded with a national alert and a link that sent emails from all across the nation to our town’s elected officials. I also spoke before city council, stating our case and asking them to simply follow the existing state laws that govern prohibited species. I spoke to the head of the safety services committee last week and learned that the ordinance has been sent to the legal advisers with NEW language that complies with the state law and does not put a blanket ban on all constricting snake species. He cited the significant public outcry as playing a key role in their decision to modify the ordinance’s language. Thank You! We won’t be totally out of the woods until the ordinance is presented back to the city council, ratified, and signed by the mayor, so we are staying vigilant in our monitoring it. That said, we are taking a moment to celebrate and say thank you to everyone that has supported us!

Sincerely,

Scott, Mandy, & Kiara Snowden