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Amnesty day gives snakes and other exotic pets new home

Staff photo by SCOTT ISKOWITZ

Turtles, birds and snakes were turned in today during the non-native pet amnesty day held at Busch Gardens.

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TBO.com

Published: November 7, 2009

Updated: 11/07/2009 03:49 pm

TAMPA - Turtles and birds and snakes. (Oh, my.)

What was the rarest of them all? An albino skunk.

Those were just some of the exotic animals turned in today during the non-native pet amnesty day held at Busch Gardens.

Organized by the theme park, the city of Plant City and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the day allowed owners to give up their exotic pets with complete amnesty from Florida wildlife regulations.

Approximately 100 animals were surrendered Saturday, the majority being reptiles, said Leigh Andrus, spokeswoman for Busch Entertainment Corporation. Of the reptiles, there were "a lot of Burmese pythons" turned in, she said.

"We were very pleased they were bringing them in," Andrus said of the pythons. "This was the first time we did this and we didn't know what to expect, but were very happy with the turnout."

The event was part of an effort to prevent the release of unwanted exotic animals, such as Burmese pythons that have been taking over large areas of the Everglades. Many of the 133 species of non-native fish and wildlife established in the wild in Florida resulted from releases by pet owners, Busch Gardens officials say.

"A lot of these are predatory animals and they will attack our Florida wildlife it's a really big issue especially in the everglades," Busch Gardens director of education and conservation Bill Street said before the event.

If released into the wild, Busch Gardens says, many exotic pets can have detrimental effects on native habitats. For example, some improperly discarded exotics can thrive in the Florida ecosystem and out-compete native species for food and habitat. Exotics can hybridize with native species, causing long-term problems.

Street said people turn in the pets for various reasons — because they're too big, too expensive or too much work.

Busch Gardens receives dozens of calls a year from exotic pet owners hoping to donate their animal to the park, however the park can rarely accept these donations.

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