![]() ![]() Isolated but widely reported incidents such as one in New Brunswick last year, where two boys on a sleepover were apparently killed by an African rock python, have helped polarize the debate.Įducation is key to allaying the fears that such accidents inflame, says Jackson, who says he has about 140 snakes currently in his “reptile room.” “That’s the whole fear of our industry, that they’ll keep going down the line,” says Jackson, who specializes in two species - ball pythons and bearded dragons - that have not been proposed for restriction. “We’re being shut down by the government and state and federal legislation.”įellow breeders and distributors such as Pat Jackson, a small-scale dealer who works as a 911 dispatcher in Fall River, worry that the so-called “Constrictor Rule” could lead to further restrictions. “My industry is dying,” McCurley says, standing in one of the humid rooms on the second floor of his facility as an employee calmly moves Miss Piggy, a prized 21-foot-long reticulated python, into a bin so he can clean her cage. In 2012, the US Fish and Wildlife Service invoked the conservation law of the 1900 Lacey Act to prohibit the importation and interstate transport of several species of snakes, including the Burmese python and yellow anaconda. US Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) has campaigned to ban certain exotic animals owing in part to rising concerns about nonnative snakes in the Everglades. If McCurley is one of the better-known snake breeders in the business, he’s also one of the loudest voices in the “herp” community decrying a recent rash of legislative efforts to curtail the sale and ownership of exotic pets. “No other animal has such a shroud of nonsense around it,” he says. In fact, McCurley seems to thrive on the misperceptions that blanket all snakes. With 20 employees at present, he has trained hundreds since opening his storefront, “and I’ve never had a single claim, ever.” His insurance guy is actually a snake lover himself, he says.Īs he talks, he grows more animated. Zoo Creatures also specializes in milk snakes, corn snakes, boas, and other nonvenomous species.ĭespite their image as ruthless mankillers who will bite or strangle anyone in their path, the snakes McCurley breeds are typically quite docile and predictable, he says. Cheryl Senter for the Boston Gloīall pythons, which can grow to 6 feet, and reticulated pythons, which average 10-20 feet, are industry favorites for their generally docile behavior. He’s big enough that he doesn’t need to, and he says, only half-joking, that he’s becoming more “antisocial” as he gets older.Įmployee Alana Hess with a reptile friend at the Plaistow, N.H., facility. ![]() McCurley no longer participates in such events. NEHS will have a table at the Reptile Expo in Manchester. They do outreach to groups such as Cub Scout packs, and they present at events like the Marshfield Fair. Once a month, her organization holds its board meeting and an educational program in South Weymouth. Snakeskin has a neat feel - it’s cool, not like leather. She likes holding them: “They’re like pure muscle. Snakes are “real easy to keep,” she says. Organizations such as the NEHS “try and spread the good word” about reptile ownership, says McCall. They’re not what people perceive them to be.” “A lot of people think they’re slimy, but they’re super soft and silky,” says Raelene DiBartolomeo, whose family has purchased three pet snakes, including a 7-foot Burmese python, at Zoo Creatures. Some find their patterns beautiful or enjoy the “outsider” status that keeping a snake might confer. There are plenty of reasons some people become enamored with snakes in particular, McCurley says. ![]() The biannual show has grown to 150 vendors, billed as “by far” its largest yet. Shows such as the New England Reptile Expo, taking place SaturdayĪt the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, N.H., have become more popular than ever in recent years. ![]()
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