J&T Reptiles and Exotic

02/23/2024

02/20/2024

02/20/2024

02/09/2024

We will be at Clearwater Marine aquarium February 16th to the 19th for go wild

02/05/2024

"A mere 10 to 20 Florida panthers roamed South Florida in 1967, the year the beleaguered animal made a list of endangered species. Today the estimate is a little more than 200 of the big cats freely roam the interior of the Florida Peninsula. But as Southwest Florida continues to expand east, conservationists fear the end is officially near for the Florida panther.

“I’m asking for prayers for the panther, and the Panther Nation. If you guys keep making room for more people, more people keep coming. And if you guys let them, they're going to destroy every square inch of this place before they're satisfied,” said Garrett Stuart, an environmental consultant and biologist who runs the Eco Preservation Project. He’s also a Native American.

This clearly passionate scientist was among some 30 demonstrators in the rain outside an Eastern Lee County Library Tuesday. Inside, the state environmental protection agency was taking public comment before deciding if a Lee County developer can build 10,000 homes in habitat critical to the Florida panther.

That many homes could translate into 95,000 additional vehicle trips a day on eastern Corkscrew Road.

The state Department of Environmental Protection and a federal judge who has been asked to intervene are likely the only entities that can stop the Kingston Project. It’s been out of the county’s hands for a little less than a year.

"You know, my elders used to call these kinds of people the foam because there's no soul in foam," said Stuart of the developers. "Because how can people treat the earth like this if they have a soul? It's always done for a quick dollar. So they can buy fancy things before they arrive to hell."

See article here:
https://www.wlrn.org/environment/2024-01-18/florida-panther-southwest-florida-environment

12/22/2023

11/16/2023

A photo gallery from the fifth annual Wonders of Wildlife Festival, held November 11th in Plant City.

11/15/2023

It’s Steve Irwin Day ❤️ Today we honour the greatest Wildlife Warrior and the passion that he had for protecting and conserving our amazing wildlife.

11/14/2023

"My life revolves around conservation. That is my work. That is my life, and I'll die doing that." -Steve Irwin

11/14/2023

11/14/2023

09/26/2023

We're back!!!
Sumter County Farmers Market in Webster!! Building A, 88!!

04/28/2023

CrocFest t-shirt design is complete. Get yours at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park on May 12! Many thanks to Joel Sartore for letting us use his image for a limited run of shirts - all to benefit the Gharial Ecology Project!

04/28/2023

Pet Slaughtered by FWC Officers, Necropsy Reveals Unborn Babies

The value of offspring contained by this pet, a legally owned animal, may have been over $100,000 if they had not been killed by FWC.

A pregnant pet named Big Shirl was inhumanely and unnecessarily slaughtered by Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Law Enforcement Officers on April 6. Big Shirl was raised from birth for over ten years by Bill McAdam. This butchery was part of an event which has become known as the “Holy Thursday Massacre” and it happened at Bill McAdam’s animal facility in Sunrise, FL in Broward County. Video of the incident shows the animal writhing on the floor for more than 20 minutes after the FWC officers administered a single bolt charge to the head. Before reading on, take pause and let it sink in that a healthy, legally owned pet was carelessly destroyed.

Regardless of how you may feel about the types of animals involved, none of the Holy Thursday Massacre was necessary and there was no urgency surrounding this event. Big Shirl was a beloved pet Boa constrictor, a species of snake that is docile under human care and commonly kept as pets. A necropsy has revealed that Big Shirl was carrying 32 babies which were only a few weeks away from being born. Boas give birth to live young rather than laying eggs like many other snakes. In addition to slaying Big Shirl, 34 pythons were executed.

The necropsy, performed by Dr. Dale Porcher DVM, found the cause of death of the adult female Boa to be the penetrating wound caused by a bolt gun charge, which passed entirely through the snake’s head and exited through the lower jaw. Dr. Porcher confirmed that the Boa appeared very healthy and the babies were developing normally.

Read full story here:
https://usarkfl.wildapricot.org/news

Contact your State legislators!

Find your State Senator here (or Google it)
https://m.flsenate.gov/senators

Find your State Representative here (or Google it):
https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx

04/28/2023

FWC Commission Meeting
https://myfwc.com/about/commission/commission-meetings/may-2023/

May 10, 2023 8:30 am
May 11, 2023 8:30 am

Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon
5101 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, Florida, 33126

Public comments will be accepted via the online comment form up to May 5
https://myfwc.wufoo.com/forms/s1g2xh6f009a30i/

Public comments will be accepted in person during the meeting.

This meeting is open to the public.

You must sign up to speak on agenda items before those items have started. You must sign up to speak for items not on the agenda by 9:30AM May 11.

This agenda is subject to change and certain items could change days. Here are a few highlights.

May 10
2. Administrative Matters
C. Approve Consent Agenda
Proposed Final Rule – Administrative Rule Changes to Reflect Transition to Online Permit Application System for Captive Wildlife.

3. Executive Director’s Report

5. Staff Reports
A.Statewide Investigations Update. Several recent high-profile cases will be highlighted and discussed during this presentation.

May 11
10. Items Requiring Action
A. Proposed Rules – Nonnative Fish and Wildlife. Staff will present proposed rules to prevent the establishment of new nonnative species in Florida, as requested by the Commissioners at the February 2023 Commission Meeting. The proposed rules are intended to address high-risk nonnative species using risk evaluations to ensure new species pose little or no threat to Florida. Staff will also provide an update on the initial input received from the Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Technical Assistance Group and outline next steps. If the proposed rules are approved, staff will return to a future Commission Meeting for a final hearing.

12. Public Comment on Items Not on the agenda.

04/28/2023

Did you call or write Governor DeSantis' office in the past week? If so, we are interested to document their response. If you called and spoke to a staffer, please send us a description of what they said to [email protected].

If you emailed and received a response, please forward that response to [email protected].

If you received no response, we are interested in hearing about too. Please let us know what day you called. We are documenting how your concerns were received.

04/28/2023

ATTEND FWC DAY AT THE CAPITOL!

FWC Day
Florida Capitol (meet in the courtyard)
400 S Monroe St
Tallahassee, FL 32399
May 2, 2023 9am

has quietly announced "FWC Day" at the Capitol next Tuesday. They intend this as an intimate affair between FWC and legislators to help salvage their reputation and secure their funding for the upcoming year.

As citizens, you have just as much right to access your elected officials as FWC does. Meet at the Capitol Courtyard at 9am on Tuesday to join our efforts to counter FWC propaganda by informing our legislators of FWC's overreach and poor handling of Florida's wildlife and natural resources.

Be prepared to be courteous and professional while communicating our concerns.

04/28/2023

N. chromatis

04/28/2023

C.M.A

04/28/2023

Presentation at salt of Trinity