Exotics
are
EverywheRE
- even in your collection!
Andrew Horlor is the owner of Fuzzy Fox Reptiles and Rodents that specializes in
breeding pythons, monitors and rodents. In this article he considers the case for allowing
reptiles other than native species to be kept in Australia.
If you have ever looked abroad to any other reptile-hobby-
loving country, the chances are that you quickly noticed the
vast array of different species the hobbyists in these
countries are enjoying keeping and breeding. Many - in
some cases all - of these animals originated outside the
countries they are being kept in and are therefore exotics.
Australian species are also highly sought after overseas.
But what about here in Australia? Why don’t we have
access to the almost limitless number of animals that the
rest of the world gets to enjoy? Why have we been put in
‘reptile lockdown’; restricted to keeping only a fraction of
our native species and forced to pay for licenses and keep
records of every reptile and reptile-related transaction? The
short story is that years ago the government decided to
make it illegal to keep exotic reptiles and banned all trade in
native Australian animals with other countries without
special permits and zoo licenses. However, a quick search
of forums or social media will tell you that many people are
frustrated and feel these laws to be outdated.
Before we continue, I feel it fair to point out that I am pro
keeping exotics, however despite being aware that there is
an underground exotic pet trade, I am also pro ‘not going
to jail’, and the naturalist in me certainly doesn’t want to see
another Cane Toad (Rhinella marina) epidemic in our very
delicate and closed ecosystem. It is my intention to discuss
this topic in the most objective manner possible, and to
ensure that both sides of the debate are covered.
First, I’m sure it comes as no shock to many readers that
there is a thriving underground market, with exotic reptiles
being bred, sold and smuggled into Australia. If this is the
first you have heard of it, I can assure you this is
nothing new and has been going on for decades. Despite
governments’ futile attempts to stop it, with the rise in
popularity of reptiles as pets, so has the exotics market
continued to grow. Keepers of native wildlife can be
identified because of the requirement for them to be
licensed, but exotic keepers often remain hidden ‘under the
radar’. And this brings us to an interesting point. If exotic
reptiles have been in the country for so long, with demand
increasing and little control over those that want to keep
and/or breed them, then why bother with the laws at all?
One herpetologist from the University of Queensland feels
that the laws make things worse and that it is time to make
exotics legal. Part of his argument is that prohibition
doesn’t work; it just generates a mindset that makes it
attractive to the very people you would never want to be a
reptile owner in the first place. The type with an outlaw
bikie mentality of, ‘I'm going to keep illegal reptiles because
I'm tough, bad and dangerous!’ If you make them legal then
psychologically you've changed the entire landscape.
In my own experience, there are also plenty of exotic
reptile keepers who have little idea of what constitutes an
illegal animal, and are simply giving their pet a good home,
Left: Corn Snakes are rumoured to have become established in the
wild in Australia. Image by Eric Isselee.
Top right: sightings of Boa Constrictors have also been reported ,
but with the exception of a few escaped pets, I couldn't find anyone who
had seen anything. Image by Patrick K. Campbell.