Pet python escapes; FWC cites owner
News Release
Friday, June 17, 2011
Media contact: Gabriella B. Ferraro, 772-215-9459
Investigators with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) have charged a West Palm Beach man with two
misdemeanors after his pet Burmese python escaped its enclosure
Monday and wound up in a parking lot of a nearby multifamily
home.
David T. Beckett (DOB 10/13/59) of West Palm Beach was charged
with illegal possession of a Burmese python without a permit and
improper caging, allowing escape. One of the requirements of a
permit calls for the owner to keep the reptile in a secure
enclosure.
Because the lid of its aquarium was left unsecured, the 7-foot
Burmese python pushed its way out. West Palm Beach police recovered
it a short time later. The snake is now being kept at a permitted
facility.
The Burmese python, once listed as a reptile of concern, is now
one of eight nonnative reptiles listed as conditional species.
Conditional reptiles may not be acquired as pets. People who owned
a conditional species before July 1, 2010, may keep their animal
for the remainder of its life. These pet owners must maintain a
valid reptile-of-concern license for the animals.
For more information on
captive wildlife rules, visit MyFWC.com/License and click on
"Captive Wildlife."
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