Snakes....This really pssssssssssssssssssssss's me off
63OK... I'm just going to come right out and say it: the thing is this: I have to license my dog, my cat. WHY DO PEOPLE WHO OWN ANIMALS THAT CANNOT BE DOMESTICATED not have to license? I am mortified and pssssssssssssssss'd off that chips are not being placed in all reptiles (non-native) like pythons and boas and crocs. There is no way to ever convince anyone with a brain that they are less dangerous than a dog. (excluding some breeds of course) Reptiles cannot be trained and will react on instinct! I am sick and tired of these loose laws that allow a snake to be an un-licensed pet and yet we dog owners and cat owners are required, by law to license. It is an outrage to be free to carry around (on your arm) at public markets such unreliable pets! I am not allowed to bring my dog into a store so when I meet up with someone who is wearing a snake around them as decoration...I get uneasy. what do these owners think it would take to set off such an unreliable animal? If you can't walk it, train it, trust it alone with your child.or leave it alone in the yard...it needs a license. Someone needs to be responsible if the pet snake gets saway. Once found, a fine should be collected. People have the right to do as they please, but these types of animals are not domestic or native to our area. I think if the laws were a little tighter someone might think twice before letting them go in the woods or are carelessly keep them in unlocked cages...or roaming free in a vehicle. Local news was in regard to this today and the confiscation of the beloved snakes....come on people. Personally. I am afraid of snakes even non poisenous...as I know some people are afraid of dogs and especially some breeds. It just psssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss's me off to no end to worry that I might meet up with some slithery stranger in the wilds of being outdoors and minding my own business. If my dog escapes...no one has to worry about it hurting anyone...hiding in secret places and living under someones house or worse yet finding it's way in. it can be returned BECAUSE IT HAS A LICENSE! You can place a sign up and find little Fido...but I don' tsee any signs advertising finding ones SNAKE. because that individual would be held resposnsible...as would I if my dog was running loose. Please pass a law requiring these reptiles to be chipped so there is no mistaking who they belong to and who I want to sue if I have to find myself up against it....as you would if my loose dog bit your child, pet etc. Live and let live I alwasy say...so license and let license! What is good for one should be good for all so please don't get all in a hissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssy over not liking this kind of "pet". I know I am not alone on this one!
Dragonrain 8 months ago
The reason there is a license law for dogs and cats though has to do with rabies. Way back when rabies was a much bigger problem, making it a requirement that you license your cat or dog was basically a way for the local government to make sure that you had gotten your pet the required rabies vaccination. Even though now rabies is much less of an issue, the tradition of getting cats and dogs licensed has carried on. That's why when you go to get your dog license, they always check for proof of rabies vaccination. It's main purpose was originally not to keep track of who had what pet, or to help you find your pet if it got lost, it was to try to eliminate rabies.
It's just cats & dogs that are licensed because really they where the most common type of domestic animal that was a rabies risk. Exotic pets weren't as common back when the law started and other types of domestics like rabbits etc aren't really a rabies risk so they weren't included in the license laws.
I'm actually a fan of exotic pets, have kept a number of them over the years and plan too again. But I agree, when they fall into the wrong hands they can become a problem. It's bad and irresponsible owners who give the rest of us a bad reputation. It sounds like you really don't like snakes. In all honesty though, in most cases the local environment is at more risk from released exotic pets than humans themselves are. I don't think you have to worry to much about having to fight off loose snakes. And I don't know how much you've looked into laws regarding exotic pets, but some states do actually have very strict laws about them.