![]() ![]() The word boa is often used to refer to all of the "true boas" that make up the Boinae subfamily within the Boidae family, as well as the Boinae subfamily's genus name, Boa. ![]() Anacondas and boa constrictors are two well-known boas. It’s overdue for the Obama administration to finish the job and ban the import and interstate transport of the remaining five species of large constrictor snakes - including reticulated pythons and boa constrictors - before it’s too late.Boa is the common name for some of the non-venomous, constricting, usually, live-bearing snakes in the family Boidae, which have stout skeletons, two functioning lungs, vestiges of hind limbs, and lack the postfrontal bones and premaxillary teeth, unlike the related yet egg-laying pythons (family Pythonidae). When you consider the danger to humans, the damage to the environment and the suffering that the snakes themselves endure in the trade, the case for a trade ban for all of these giant snakes is clear-cut. Banning just nine of the most dangerous species would have little effect on businesses, since there are hundreds of less risky snake and reptile species available to pet purchasers. Constrictor snakes have killed 15 people in the United States, including seven children. This very industry that first weakened the rule is the same one that peddles high-maintenance dangerous predators to unqualified people at flea markets, swap meets and over the Internet. The White House’s rule addressed just 30 percent of the problem and leaves 70 percent of imported large constrictor snakes unchecked - including reticulated pythons and boa constrictors, which represent more than two-thirds of the large constrictor snakes in the U.S. But after pressure from reptile dealers, the Obama administration moved ahead with a half-measure and banned the trade in just four of the nine species: the Indian python (including Burmese python), northern and southern African pythons and yellow anacondas. Geological Survey identified as posing a significant risk to the environment. Fish and Wildlife Service had a proposal under consideration to ban the trade of nine large constrictor snake species that the U.S. Once the genie is out of the bottle, there’s no putting it back. Not a single invasive reptile species has ever been eradicated through management efforts, and taxpayers will continue to spend millions of dollars to try and control the snakes already thriving in the environment. Too often people purchase pet snakes when the animals are young and manageable, but there are very few options for placement once the snakes grow too dangerous to handle. These invasions might have been triggered when an owner who could no longer care for his pet snake dumped it outdoors. With clutch sizes of up to 124 eggs, these snakes reproduce rapidly and could establish breeding populations in large portions of the southern tier of the United States, from Texas to Arizona, and to Hawaii. The giant snakes already have become an invasive species in parts of Florida, Puerto Rico, Aruba and Cozumel. In Corpus Christi, a woman needed 17 stitches to her hand after a 13-foot Burmese python coiled around her hand and neck.Īll over Texas, there have been incidents involving deadly and non-native large constrictor snakes in residential neighborhoods. In Guadalupe County, a woman was attacked in her kitchen by a 14-foot boa constrictor. ![]() In Houston, police discovered a boa constrictor inside a stolen convertible they had recovered, and a mechanic was bitten trying to remove the snake. In Dallas, a 7-month-old girl was killed by her father’s 8-foot pet reticulated python that forced its way out of a covered 30-gallon aquarium and crawled into the baby’s crib, covering her head with dozens of needle-like tooth marks. ![]()
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