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Florida Fish and Wildlife targets ring that illegally trafficked cobras, vipers, and other venomous snakes
Fox News ^ | 16 Jan, 2023 | Greg Wehner

Posted on 01/17/2023 2:29:35 PM PST by MtnClimber

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, filed felony and misdemeanor charges against eight people after a multi-year investigation discovered they were illegally trafficking venomous and unlawful snakes.

The investigation kicked off in 2020 after receiving reports and complaints about a black market that is used for the sale and purchase of highly dangerous venomous reptiles in Florida.

Some of the species sold and purchased include the bushmaster, inland taipan, rhinoceros viper, African bush viper, Gaboon viper, green mamba, eyelash viper, spitting cobra, forest cobra and saw-scaled vipers.

The other concern is that if the animals were to escape, they could easily thrive and breed, given Florida’s subtropical climate.

The investigation uncovered nearly 200 snakes made up of 24 different species from seven different regions across the globe. The snakes were purchased or sold by undercover agents with the FWC.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Science; Society
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1 posted on 01/17/2023 2:29:35 PM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber
Uggh, Gaboon viper!


2 posted on 01/17/2023 2:29:47 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Just rounding up more venom for the vaxxes.


3 posted on 01/17/2023 2:32:21 PM PST by Maudeen (https://ThereIsHopeinJesus.com)
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To: MtnClimber

So many wildlife laws seem to be inverted. In many states it is unlawful to own native species of wild animals as pets such as flying squirrels, skunks, crows, and raccoons. Yet you can own boas and other exotic species which could escape and become an invasive species like the Burmese Python problem. If “laboratory” cobras or mambas get established in the wild, it will cost us a lot of lives.


4 posted on 01/17/2023 2:36:36 PM PST by Monterrosa-24 (To the barricades !!!)
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To: MtnClimber

cobras in fla, wonderful...


5 posted on 01/17/2023 2:36:52 PM PST by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: Chode

Eyelash viper. I think I dated a few of those venomous creatures.


6 posted on 01/17/2023 2:42:50 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

“Eyelash viper. I think I dated a few of those venomous creatures.”

Did we have the same girlfriend?


7 posted on 01/17/2023 2:45:06 PM PST by Fai Mao (Stop feeding the beast, and steal its food!)
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To: MtnClimber

Ought to be good for a life sentence, in the worst hell-hole prison in the state.


8 posted on 01/17/2023 2:45:50 PM PST by OKSooner (Don't try to beat the cops at their own game.)
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To: MtnClimber
Eyelash viper: Yep I know her.


9 posted on 01/17/2023 2:46:31 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

American TwoStep...


10 posted on 01/17/2023 2:55:03 PM PST by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: MtnClimber

What kind of idiot wants to own one of those damned things?


11 posted on 01/17/2023 2:56:34 PM PST by GaryCrow
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To: MtnClimber

Black mamba, no need for snake boots. It’ll get you in the face. You then go sit against a tree and smoke one or two efore you die.


12 posted on 01/17/2023 3:09:18 PM PST by TermLimits4All (Voting booths don't matter. Results are already baked and we're just useless pawns. )
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To: TermLimits4All

Here’s some info on the black mamba.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_mamba
There’s also a video of a black mamba vs green mamba.
https://youtu.be/WNhbkqicb4E


13 posted on 01/17/2023 3:13:04 PM PST by TermLimits4All (Voting booths don't matter. Results are already baked and we're just useless pawns. )
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To: GaryCrow

Domestic terrorism


14 posted on 01/17/2023 3:24:38 PM PST by Missouri gal
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To: MtnClimber

***a black market that is used for the sale and purchase of highly dangerous venomous reptiles in Florida. ***

Lots of weird stuff being let loose in Fla. People get bored with them and dump them. I have read of Piranha in the waters and wild monkeys on the loose. along with pythons and various lizards.


15 posted on 01/17/2023 3:36:22 PM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”)
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To: MtnClimber

If folks thought pythons were bad enough just wait until the Everglades is teaming with Gaboon Vipers and Cobras. Florida will become like Snake Island off of South Merica’s Atlantic coast.

They would probably slither their way into Miami. Ewww.


16 posted on 01/17/2023 3:47:06 PM PST by MachIV
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To: GaryCrow

Drug dealers


17 posted on 01/17/2023 4:04:07 PM PST by Varda
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To: GaryCrow
what kind of idiot would want to own one of those things"

You've managed the study idiots enough to catergorize them into sub species?..is there a difference between these idiots and pitbull owners? - both think they are superhuman and nobody would ever be hurt by their pets.

18 posted on 01/17/2023 4:08:55 PM PST by Ikeon (You only live once is a lie, you live forever, where you spend eternity is your choice. )
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To: MtnClimber
I believe the Gaboon viper has the longest fangs of any snake. Though a rare snake of the African jungle, it’s one you never want to encounter.

Marlin Perkins (of Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom fame) was actually bitten by one when he was curator of the St. Louis zoo. By his own admission, he was very fortunate to survive.

19 posted on 01/17/2023 4:19:50 PM PST by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: Chode
"cobras in fla, wonderful..."
No, no! They're all needed in NY to reduce over population. Each NY school needs several as a cuddly school pet.
20 posted on 01/17/2023 5:04:14 PM PST by Hiddigeigei ("Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish," said Dionysus - Euripides)
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