[AnotherUnixGeek]

NOTE: NOT A WILD PYTHON — had escaped from home cage.

Another reason it should be illegal for private citizens to own dangerous exotic animals. Chimps, tigers, Burmese pythons belong in zoos. And, of course, the fact that there are any wild pythons at all in the US is due to people buying them as pets.

[hoosierham]

Exactly;and I think it is a combination of wanting to have something no one else has and the sick thrill of vicarious participation in the predatory "pet" killing prey.

Normal pet owners do not feed other live animals to pets;there is nothing cuddly about something that would eat you given the chance.

People who keep snakes,big cats ,and other such pets are doing the equivalent of playing with loaded guns.Sooner or later there will be a tragedy,as the exotice pet kills the neighbor's lapdog or kills its own .foolish owner.

[12Gauge687]

Your argument could also be made for less dangerous exotics, like pet fish, which have invaded many areas of the US. Carp and snakehead fish are decimating local native populations.

Also, historically, the population of wild hogs on the continental US is due in part to the original 13 pigs brought over by the Spanish in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Now they number in the millions and are legally considered pests in many states.