Canadian Regulations List compilation thread

[Spankenstyne]

There seems to be a lot of confusion and grey areas when it comes to what us Canadians are allowed to keep & work with when it comes to garters. Lets work together to compile an ongoing resource for our Canadian members regarding their provincial (and if applicable municipal) regulations regarding all things Thamnophis. Please be sure to add a working link to your provincial Wildlife Act and to note if it's a personal interpretation if you haven't actually contacted Fish & Wildlife.

Lets try to keep it as simple and clear as possible so we can ideally end up with an easy to understand list for each province as a resource. This can be helpful not only to the hobbyist but also to folks looking to sell from other provinces or other countries.

We will of course also have to note that it will be used as a guideline only, that it's not intended in any way to be considered a legal document. Perhaps when we're done Boots or one of the mods will be so kind as to sticky the compiled list.

I'll start with the ones I have already previously contacted the appropriate officials for: BC and Alberta.


British Columbia
-No possession of all species of the genus Thamnophis.
BC regulations:
Wildlife Act
Designation and Exemption Regulation

Permits applicable but only issued to Zoos and researchers.
Please add any municipal regulations that also apply.

Alberta
-Possession currently allowed but no buying/selling/trading/importing/exporting of: T. s. parietalis (Red Sided), T. radix (Plains), T. elegans (Wandering. This also includes ssp).
-No possession of T. butleri (Butler's), T. sauritus (Eastern Ribbon).
Alberta Regulations:
Alberta Queen's Printer: Legislation

Permits applicable but only issued to Zoos and researchers.
Please add any municipal regulations that also apply.


*Just a note that changes in taxonomy don't necessarily make an animal legal that was previously considered illegal. Normally the acts have provisions that grandfather them in as to what they were classified as when the act was written. If you have any questions please contact your local Fish & Wildlife offices.

[kimbosaur]

Great Thread!

Ontario
- May possess Thamnophis species with the exception of Thamnophis Butleri (endangered in Ontario)
- May import from legal out of province sources
- May not remove from the wild without a permit (Small Game)

Ontario regulations:
Wildlife in Captivity - Natural Resources Management Division - Ontario Government, Ministry of Natural Resources
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 41

Quoted from a reply (E-mail) from the Ministry of Natural Resources:

The species you are interested in keeping. . .are not scheduled in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act therefore no permits are required to keep them in captivity. There are no restrictions on purchasing either of these species from legal out-of-province sources. Please note you may not capture snakes from the wild.

People keeping wildlife in captivity, whether native wildlife or non-native, must meet the standards of care outlined in the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (OSPCA Act) and it's regulations. Owners of captive wildlife must also ensure animals do not escape and they are liable for any recovery costs if animals do escape.

[Spankenstyne]

Fantastic, thanks for contributing Kimberly. We're off to a good start.
Hopefully we'll get more of our fellow Canadians to help fill in the rest of the provinces.

[Scott F]

Hey Chris,

This is a great thread, very helpful for all. Anyone that's familiar with their provinces regulations, if you will list them it would be a benefit to the thamnophis community.

Scott
.