ORLANDO, Fla. – After a couple cobras flew the coop late last year, Florida wildlife officials decided to take another look at how to prevent deadly reptiles from slithering loose with potentially fatal consequences.
On Thursday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved further action by staff to work with a technical advisory group, industry experts and others to refine proposed changes to existing venomous reptile rules.
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Changes could include a possible venomous reptile classification system, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
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Staff will draft rules for the commissioners to consider at a future meeting.
“The Commission is pleased with the progress that the Captive Wildlife section has made so far, and we look forward to their recommendations at a meeting in the future,” FWC Chairman Brian Yablonski, said in a release. “With freedom comes responsibility, and our primary concerns are public safety and the native habitat.”
Other proposed changes include modified training, caging and handling requirements to increase safety and lessen risk to licensees and the public from reptile escapes.
Maj. Brian Smith, leader of FWC's Captive Wildlife section, recommended creating a classification system for venomous reptiles (native or nonnative) and establishing a technical assistance group to provide guidance on categories (or tiers) within the nonnative classification. These tiers could range from continued possession to potential prohibitions of possession for some species.
FWC decided to take up the issue in response to the two recent high-profile escapes.
In September, Mike Kennedy, an exotic animal dealer and star of the Discovery Channel reality show "Airplane Repo," reported his 8-foot-long king cobra — named Elvis — missing from his Orlando home.
Elvis had left the building, and was later found about a half-mile away, hissing underneath the dryer of a woman's garage, where animal-control officers captured the snake.
In November, a 5-foot cobra was captured in a backyard in Buckingham, Florida, after it had escaped from the home of Lewis Mark Pellicer.
Both men faced repercussions for their escaped cobras.
"Mr. Kennedy is currently appealing his license revocation," said Rob Klepper, public information coordinator for FWC's law enforcement division. "Mr. Pellicer no longer possesses venomous reptiles."
The two escapes prompted FWC's Captive Wildlife Section to conduct Operation Slither, in which all of the venomous reptile licensees statewide were inspected and had their caging evaluated for structural integrity and compliance with state rules. The snake sting netted two citations and 71 warnings for license, caging or administrative deficiencies.
There are about 280 venomous reptile licensees in Florida, according to FWC.
To prevent snake escapes, FWC staff recommends modifying training, caging and handling rules.
One idea is to require all venomous reptile cages be locked and kept in an escape-proof room when not being transported, according to FWC documents. Regulations also could be created to ban venomous reptiles being free-handled outside of an escape-proof room, or at all.
FWC also could require use of Passive Integrated Transponder tags for all non-native species, to allow for identification if a reptile is captured in the wild and for closer monitoring of inventory.
The venomous reptile industry is working with FWC to develop training courses as an alternative to getting 1,000 hours of experience, as currently required by rule. Potential licensees could complete the course or get the experience hours.
FWC plans more workshops with stakeholders, permit holders and the public to refine the proposal.
The state agency would establish the new classification system and return in June with a draft rule for the commission's consideration.
Closer to home, although not venomous, green anacondas have made headlines in Brevard County.
Early this year, two green anacondas — each about 9 feet long — were found slithering free in Brevard County within a few weeks of each other.
Brevard County Animal Services secured one snake, ultimately handing the situation over to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
FWC officers took the snake to a veterinary facility, which euthanized the snake, for research purposes.
Then, in November, state wildlife officers shot and killed a 9-foot-long green anaconda near the St. Johns River at the Brevard/Orange County line.
A concerned citizen and an airboater had called FWC, which found the large snake on the embankment of the Midway Airboat Rides off of State 50 in north Brevard.
Neither of the anacondas found in Brevard had the legally required microchip, FWC officials said.
Green anacondas are native to South America, and can grow to more than 500 pounds and 20 feet long. In Florida, the snake poses a risk to native wildlife.
Last year, an 18-year-old Hillsborough County man was bit when he was reportedly trying to kiss a 4-foot-long cottonmouth snake. He recovered from the bite, which had sent him to the hospital in critical condition.
In 2009, a cable worker in Hollywood, Florida, was rushed to the hospital and given antivenin after being bitten on the arm as he rested near a coconut tree. The highly venomous snake was presumed at the time to be an African green mamba in the tree.