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Fort Myers Woman Cited for Trying to Sell Snakes
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Fort Myers Woman Cited for Trying to Sell Snakes
#1
Check out Florida 'gettin' all serious and stuff".....as it SHOULD BE.

Fort Myers Woman Cited for Trying to Sell Snakes

Oct 02, 2013 ,By George Solis, Reporter NCB-2.com, Fort Myers, FL -
For the first time we're hearing from a woman caught up in a statewide operation to nab people selling animals illegally on the Internet.
Twenty-one-year-old Charley Ragland's Ford Mustang is pretty hard to miss -- aside from the cherry red color, the large "snake life" bumper sticker pretty much sums it up.
It's also the best way to sum her up.
She owns 14 snakes, which isn't a problem.
"I don't have anything restricted. I don't have anything venomous," Ragland said, but she admits she tried to sell five of them online on Craigslist.
"I was open and honest," she added.
She quickly found a buyer, but the trouble is it's illegal in the state of Florida to sell snakes without a license.
"All five guys came around my car, and I think they were surprised that it was little girl that had five snakes," Ragland said.
She was one of 33 people cited in Florida, part of Florida Fish and Wildlife's "Operation Wild Web."
"This was a joint effort from some other federal and state agencies in here in Florida, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Internet Crimes Unit was looking for folks who were selling different types of species without a proper permit," said FWC Community Relations Coordinator Katie Purcell.
Ragland says she tried to get the permits, but had little luck doing so.
Kathy Ragland, Charley's mom, says her daughter is no criminal mastermind and that this is nothing more than a mix up.
"She did a lot of research on how to take care of them, she's done a very good job on habitat and on the care and everything just dropped it on the license," Kathy said
Charley says the ordeal has been a learning experience.
"It just makes it all the more serious," Ragland said.
She has filled out the proper paperwork to sell in the future and has hired an attorney for the case. She is likely to pay a fine.
Ragland says she might now consider a career with FWC, along with helping educate others about the law.
"I want to get into it even more and make it a bigger business," Ragland said.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#2
thats crazy!
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#3
Kinda interesting that FWC is targeting people selling on craigslist. I should post some frogs and see if they seek me out, just for fun.
Dustin Y.
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#4
Like Jon H....you better have your permits.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#5
Ohh no doubt. I'm no idiot.

EDIT: I know ignorance is no excuse for the law but I would venture to say that most people selling animals on craigslist are not aware of needing a permit.
Dustin Y.
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#6
most agencies don't care but Florida F&W apparently has a nice big budget and some personnel that are aggressive. PA = meh...but Florida ? I'd be super careful.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#7
This girl is full of crap when she says "I had little luck obtaining the permits."
It's a matter of filling out some paperwork and sending in a check. Easy-peasy, no excuse for not having it.
Kudos to FWC for seeking these people out.
Jon
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#8
Jon is right, it is a very simple process. Just as he said, fill out the form, send it in along with a check, and your done.
Dustin Y.
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#9
Kudos to FWC for seeking these people out to parade in front of the media? That's disgusting.

They could have cited her a warning and given her a chance to get her permits and do things legally. This was nothing more then a PR campaign.
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#10
BluePumilio Wrote:Kudos to FWC for seeking these people out to parade in front of the media? That's disgusting.

They could have cited her a warning and given her a chance to get her permits and do things legally. This was nothing more then a PR campaign.

As Dustin said, ignorance of the law is no excuse. In fact the girl in this story wasn't even ignorant of the law, she did not actively pursue getting her permit.
I don't care if it is a PR campaign, if it's a PR campaign that gets more people to acquire the appropriate permits then it's totally worth it and justified. If anything, with all the bad press about "Giant Pythons" and the general bad public perception of herp keepers, the more herp keepers we get on the correct side of the law the better for public perception. How can you take a stand against that Justin? How can you defend these people that don't have the appropriate permits? It's very much akin to defending smugglers.
Jon
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#11
BluePumilio Wrote:Kudos to FWC for seeking these people out to parade in front of the media? That's disgusting.

They could have cited her a warning and given her a chance to get her permits and do things legally. This was nothing more then a PR campaign.

That's the purpose of Law Enforcement Justin. Compliance thru awareness. There can be all the 'buckle up' , 'Don't drink and drive' TV ads, bumper stickers and billboards, but until some people get arrested and fined, NOTHING will start to work deterrence-wise.

Arrests are needed.
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#12
I likely have more state and federal permits here then anyone, so I make that statement based on what I've seen done to others around me who have not followed the rules. I've seen two situations come around from violations.

1.) Where the person is told about their violations and given a chance to fix them before a citation is issued.

2.) Where they issue a citation regardless if the person knows of the regulations.

I prefer the first approach, as it educated the person and solved the problem. It also makes it more likely for people to approach officials without fear of legal recourse, by helping them comply with the regulations. One of the biggest reasons people don't obtain permits is fear from opening themselves up citations if they aren't sure if they are "legal" or not.

Perhaps this persons different, but that's how I prefer to see these situations handled.
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#13
I'm curious about bean beetles. Would it be alright for people in FL to get arrested by state officials if they kept them in their house as feeders? Or should they be informed about the permit requirements to keep these insects in the state? How would the hobbyists here feel in those situations?
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#14
Someone really should ask and try to get a written response from FFWC.

Always try to get a response in writing to keep on file.
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#15
Philsuma Wrote:Someone really should ask and try to get a written response from FFWC.

Always try to get a response in writing to keep on file.

Response on what? Bean Beetles? That's a separate state Dept.
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#16
sorry, that's what I mean...Dept of agriculture.
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#17
They actually have fairly clear regulations available online for those who want to go through them.

As for a response, my correspondence had been limited with them over the years until recently, but they have been very helpful regarding a few permits/licenses I'm currently obtaining from them.
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#18
BluePumilio Wrote:They actually have fairly clear regulations available online for those who want to go through them.

As for a response, my correspondence had been limited with them over the years until recently, but they have been very helpful regarding a few permits/licenses I'm currently obtaining from them.

I would have to agree. Everyone I've ever spoken to with FWC has been very nice and helpful, as well as the local inspector from the FL Dept. of Agriculture.
Just a heads up for those of you that don't know. But in order to sell plants in FL you need a permit from the Dept. of Ag. Not only do you need a permit but they actually send and inspector out to your business/home to perform an inspection of your plants and facilities.
FL isn't messing around with this stuff folks. They're serious.
I'd rather have it be like this then for them to take away our rights to keep certain animals under a blanket policy.
Jon
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#19
That actually only applies when selling "potted" plants shipped/sold in soil. You can contact FL Agriculture for further questions. People selling brom offsets or cuttings in FL don't need to freak out.

Rusty_Shackleford Wrote:
BluePumilio Wrote:They actually have fairly clear regulations available online for those who want to go through them.

As for a response, my correspondence had been limited with them over the years until recently, but they have been very helpful regarding a few permits/licenses I'm currently obtaining from them.

I would have to agree. Everyone I've ever spoken to with FWC has been very nice and helpful, as well as the local inspector from the FL Dept. of Agriculture.
Just a heads up for those of you that don't know. But in order to sell plants in FL you need a permit from the Dept. of Ag. Not only do you need a permit but they actually send and inspector out to your business/home to perform an inspection of your plants and facilities.
FL isn't messing around with this stuff folks. They're serious.
I'd rather have it be like this then for them to take away our rights to keep certain animals under a blanket policy.
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#20
BluePumilio Wrote:That actually only applies when selling "potted" plants shipped/sold in soil. You can contact FL Agriculture for further questions. People selling brom offsets or cuttings in FL don't need to freak out.

My understanding is if you sell any plant in FL, you need a permit. Which type depends on a few things. One is how many facilities you have. If you're taking cuttings and growing them you need a Nursery permit. If you're taking cuttings and not planting them, selling brom pups, or buying wholesale and reselling them without repotting the plants you need a Nursery Stock Broker permit.
http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisio ... nformation


Rusty_Shackleford Wrote:
BluePumilio Wrote:They actually have fairly clear regulations available online for those who want to go through them.

As for a response, my correspondence had been limited with them over the years until recently, but they have been very helpful regarding a few permits/licenses I'm currently obtaining from them.

I would have to agree. Everyone I've ever spoken to with FWC has been very nice and helpful, as well as the local inspector from the FL Dept. of Agriculture.
Just a heads up for those of you that don't know. But in order to sell plants in FL you need a permit from the Dept. of Ag. Not only do you need a permit but they actually send and inspector out to your business/home to perform an inspection of your plants and facilities.
FL isn't messing around with this stuff folks. They're serious.
I'd rather have it be like this then for them to take away our rights to keep certain animals under a blanket policy.
Jon
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