Herpers work with city to rewrite ordinance

Responsible herpers in the West Fargo have been working for twelve months to rewrite a city ordinance prohibiting large constricting snake species.

The ordeal began in July of 2012, when a man brought his 8’ Burmese python into a public park and the police informed him it was illegal for the snake to be in the city. This triggered a reaction that brought to light an unregulated ordinance that banned “any poisonous, venomous, constricting or inherently dangerous member of the reptile or amphibian families.” The city’s police chief stated than he was not a fan of snakes and the mayor has similar feelings. The city officials were initially against changing the ordinance but the reptile folks have won the fight.

The python owner originally addressed the city council at the first open meeting following the incident and failed to receive a majority vote. At the next city meeting, dedicated reptile keepers and members of the Fargo Herpetological Society, with assistance from the National Herpetological Congress, addressed the ordinance in a professional manner and began the process of revising the ordinance with the city officials.

After months of work with an anti-reptile city board, the largest species of snakes are now allowed in the city on a permitted system. The herp community in West Fargo could have been inactive and left the original ordinance in place, but by educating the city officials and putting forth some effort, they now have the opportunity to keep large constrictors.

A longtime reptile breeder, hobbyist, and member of the reptile industry, Phil Goss is the President of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK), the reptile community's national grassroots organization that works on regulatory issues at the local, state and federal levels.

Photo by Toni Childers.