26/04/2022
Despite the outcry from reptile keepers at a recent public hearing which was attended by a passionate, standing room only crowd, FWC plans to pass rule 68A-6.003 with no substantial changes at the upcoming FWC Commission meeting May 3. If our concerns have been considered, they have been dismissed.
As was confirmed by FWC staff at the hearing and clarified at the link below, this rule will force animal keepers that may lose their licenses for as little as one violation, to forfeit Class III wildlife which does not even require a license to own. So if you breed something as harmless as corn snakes or leopard geckos and get a violation due to an inventory error or a water bowl that got pooped in, you could lose your license and lose your animals as a result.
See this link for FWC's new marketing pitch for this rule:
https://myfwc.com/license/captive-wildlife/rules-and-regulations/?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=campaign
Please attend to the upcoming meeting to voice your concerns:
FWC Commission Meeting
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Hilton University of Florida Conference Center
1714 SW 34th Street
Gainesville, Florida, 32607
