Over the past decade or more, we as the reptile and exotics keeping community and industry have seen a tremendous increase in the amount of legislation and regulations being proposed, and in many cases, passed pertaining to the ownership of these animals. Such legislation and regulations are, and have been, proposed at all levels of government, ranging from local municipalities, counties and parishes, state/province, and even federally. Oftentimes, when it relates to reptiles, animals such as crocodilians, venomous reptiles. and the large constrictor species are frequently subjected to such regulatory efforts. However, many local municipalities (here in Wisconsin and elsewhere) often have far more restrictive ordinances specifying which animals can and cannot be kept or sold.

Furthermore, most, if not all states and provinces now have their own regulations pertaining to the collection, possession, and sale of their indigenous reptile and amphibian species, particularly those which are threatened, endangered, or otherwise legally protected. Therefore, it is important to know which species are indigenous to your state and which ones are protected by law. It is also important to be aware of, and abide by all other applicable laws and regulations pertaining to keeping reptiles and amphibians, whether you currently reside in a given area and are considering acquiring a particular species which may or may not be legal, or whether you plan to relocate to another municipality, county, and/or state.

The Dos of Finding Your Local Herp Laws

1. Join and participate in your local, regional, or state herp society. Oftentimes, other members of many herp societies will be aware of the laws and regulations, and will be able to provide you useful insight and information about them. The individuals you speak with should seem knowledgeable, and be able to either provide you with a copy of the regulations in question, or be able to direct you to them.

2. The Internet is also a valuable and useful tool for conducting nearly any type of research. In most cases, native species regulations can be found through conducting searches on your state's department of natural resources, or fish and game department. Oftentimes, many counties and municipalities will also either have links on their web pages to their code of ordinances (sometimes called the municipal code, or by laws), or the code will be posted directly to their website. Municode.com is a website containing the municipal codes of many counties and municipalities. There is also a law database right here on Kingsnake.com containing links to many local and state laws as well.

3. Many regulations and ordinances are also available at your local library or city/town hall, particularly if you are unable to locate them elsewhere. In most cases, the applicable ordinances relating to keeping reptiles or other exotics will be contained within the animal or pet related ordinances, which may require a little searching to locate if they are not given their own chapter.

The Don'ts of Finding Your Local Herp Laws

1. When researching the laws in your area, it is preferable to avoid specifically inquiring about the legality status of reptiles, or other exotic animals to municipality or other local governmental staff. Chances are, many council people will be uninformed and/or fearful of these animals, and doing so will bring the issue to the forefront of their attention and inspire them to draft ordinances against the ownership of these animals (if there are no current ordinances already) in response to what they often perceive to be a "sudden and imminent influx of people keeping deadly exotic animals in the city to protect public safety". If one must make such inquiries to local government, at most ask to see their animal ordinances.

2. Do not necessarily assume that animals you see being sold or displayed in your local pet stores, or at temporary bona fide animal exhibits held in your area are legal to privately keep where you live. Remember that most pet stores serve customers not only in their respective municipalities, but also oftentimes individuals well outside of that municipality, or even region wide. In many instances, local municipalities with restrictions provide exemptions for retail stores, bona fide shows, or other businesses for keeping or selling otherwise prohibited animals provided that several other humane animal care, and sanitation measures are met and maintained.

3. Do not find out the hard way that your area has regulations or restrictions in place, as law enforcement personnel I know would likely say ignorance of the law is no excuse. In most cases, conducting 10 to 20 minutes of research beforehand will save you much of the potential trouble and hassles later on associated with being discovered to have violated laws or ordinances.

In conclusion, it should be important for all of us to be aware of and abide by all applicable local and state regulations on keeping our beloved reptiles. While many of us may see many of these ordinances (particularly at the municipality level) as being utterly ridiculous, arbitrary, and making little to no sense biologically, or even outright logically (and thus be tempted to take the "don't ask, don't tell approach"), we must nevertheless either abide by them or choose to reside elsewhere where our animals are permitted. I believe this is especially so if we wish to be seen by the public as a whole as a legitimate, responsible, and law abiding hobby and industry.

In nearly each publicized instance where an individual is found to be violating some aspect of reptile related laws (whether pertaining to indigenous or exotic species) or in such cases where someone participates in some other unscrupulous act, it seems that we as the herpetocultural and field herping community as a whole receive yet even more negative publicity, thereby providing even more ammunition for those that oppose our hobby and industry with, and in many cases, are the catalysts for further restrictions or even outright prohibitions. In short, be smart, be aware, and be responsible when it come to laws.