News from WDFW, question

[Dragonbeards]

In response to an email I sent them a few weeks ago about keeping and breeding Puget Sound Garter snakes, this is the response I got:

"Hello and thank you for contacting Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife. I’ve been asked by our Wildlife Management program to answer your question on snakes.

There are no regulations prohibiting you from purchasing these species inside/outside the state of Washington and then breeding and selling. However, like Wildlife Management explained, taking snakes from the wild is unlawful. Often folks capture wildlife from the wild and then sell it, so I would question immediately where those snakes came from.

Finally, any selling, or buying, and you may need some sort of business license in Washington State. You may want to speak with DOL."

So looks like keeping Pugets will be OK, so long as I can verify their origins. I'll just need to get a business licence.

Does anyone know where a good species specific care sheet is for the Puget? Specifically, I'm wanting information about breeding (especially how many babies they typically have), so I know I'll be prepared.

Thanks,

Dragonbeards

[BUSHSNAKE]

to me it sounds like theyre saying..."As long as your pickreingii are from Mars then its ok"

[snakeman]

They really don't care.

[ConcinusMan]

Also, they would require that you can verify origins of your pugets. That means paperwork and just because you bought it from someone in another state who says they are captive bred, that is not what they mean by verification. They would have to come from a licensed breeder or business.

I noticed they failed to mention that according to law, if you buy a snake outside the state, dept of agriculture requires a health certificate (vet exam) and import permit before it enters the state. It gets to be quite expensive and quite a hassle if you're going to keep, breed, and sell native garters while following the letter of the law, and I really don't think you're going to find many pugets for sale that can verified of their origins.

But really you could ignore all of this. Someone who isn't necessarily me does just that. Like snakeman said...

They don't really give a darn. They aren't going to investigate or respond to calls when it comes to garter snakes.

Also, if you're doing less than $4,000 dollars in sales each year, a business license is not required.

[Mommy2many]

Are you looking to acquire them for pleasure of business purposes? I would say that if for pleasure, no one would care and or give a #%$. I guess, how would they even know that you have them? Good luck with what ever you intend to do!

[Dragonbeards]

Eh, I'll probably just go back to my original idea of red-sided garter snakes. Pugets seem way too much a hassle. Maybe if I ever move out of state, I'll tackle them.