How many exotic snakes are there available in aust, i have no idea. THis article was spurred after i read this http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=93780 I would love to have a Boa or Burmese python, i think if we had a National lisencing system, i think we could keep it in the country and keep our snake industry alive
exotic reptiles as pets... ben, legally, only one exotic herp is available in australia - the axolotl. however, as the article states, there are plenty of people in australia (and i know there are lots in victoria) who keep other exotics. the most common would have to be green iguanas and boa constrictors, but burmese pythons too and just about everything else is available in the underground trade. japanese fire-bellied newts and common newts used to be available at many aquariums and petshops in melbourne. red-eared sliders (those colourful terrapins that actually grow really big) have become a pest in queensland and are currently being eradicated from certain waterways. in victoria, under an inexpensive licence, one can keep virtually any native reptile or frog. its a somewhat stupid system because the DEH doesn't actually give a damn if you dont hand in any records or ignore your obligations under the licence. the idea is to stop people from taking animals from the wild and i suppose it is somewhat effective at doing that. in the USA exotic reptiles (and many other animals from monkeys to tigers) are legal and can be purchased by anyone from any pet store. as a result, the southern states of the US are overrun with exotic snakes, caiman, iguanas, frogs, newts and just about everything else. a national licencing system would not work at stopping the inevitable release of exotic species that could potentially become another cane toad. its a very big problem (believe me, i know a guy who deals with reptiles, and the stuff he gets offered!!!) but legalising it is a bad, bad idea. and since when was our snake industry dying?!!!!
its not just the exotic animals as pets is, like here in SA we can have Aligators, they are getting less and less common but i agree with you on everything else. ohh there is a red eared slider in adeliade zoo, in the Amazon Avairy,
well, i'll be damned i knew you guys could grow marijuana, but i had no idea you could keep alligators as well!!! how does that particular system work - i thought south australians didn't even have a licence for native wildlife making many snakes, lizards etc very difficult to obtain in the state? if you have any more info on alligators as pets in south australia, i would be very keen on knowing.... i should mention that there are some people in australia who have aquired special permits to keep their exotic under "once off" licences. under the system they are obligated to keep record of their animals, not attempt breeding and not aquire any more when the reptiles die. they where handed out during an amnesty period many years ago and a few lucky people where allowed to keep their animals if they declared them. these days if you hand them in you avoid prosecution, but the animals are confiscated and destroyed (unless they are rare and the zoos want them). the other animals commonly smuggled into australia is tarantulas. fortunately for the spiders any siezed animals in victoria end up alive and well at the melbourne museum - who has a massive collection of the arachnids perminately quarrentined, with some on display.
We cant grow marijuana, thats laws been changed. We are very well off here, we can get alligators with no license, and we also have a small zoo permit you can apply for which allows you to keep anything you want, Such availible species are, Spider, Squirel Monkeys, Lemurs, Big Cats, Meerkats otters, and all that can be in your own backyard
I know this isn't Australian, but i found a website which sells reticulated pythons and green anacondas (plus many more exotic species) for about £1000 I'm not sure if there are any checks required for purchasing one, but the site looked quite professional...
In the UK, the Dangerous Wild Animals Act controls private keepers of exotic species: you need a licence to keep a dangerous species, I posted a link to the current schedule (list) of such species on the DEFRA website in the thread about hippos here. Alan
