OGDEN -- Want to catch and legally keep live rattlesnakes in your house?
It could become easier to do just that if your local government doesn't already prohibit it, pending the outcome of a meeting of state wildlife officials this week.
The Utah Wildlife Board is meeting today and Thursday to decide whether to simplify the legal process for collecting and keeping two types of rattlesnakes -- the Great Basin rattlesnake, found throughout the Great Basin, and the less common Midget Faded rattlesnake, which is found in the Colorado River basin.
Currently, those seeking to possess live rattlesnakes in Utah have to go through a lengthy process to obtain a variance from the Utah Wildlife Board. There are currently only three entities that have such a variance -- the Veteran's Administration hospital, which conducts research on snake venom, Hogle Zoo, and James Dix, who provides venomous snake education to animal control officers and runs Reptile Rescue Inc., a Salt Lake City service that takes in unwanted pet reptiles (it is illegal in Utah to release a pet reptile into the wild).
The new proposal on the table would allow Utah residents to obtain a certificate of registration and legally possess the two species.
"It's a very small percentage of the population that's interested in this, but the desire to catch venomous snakes in the wild and then breed them in captivity is growing among herpetologists (people who enjoy catching and raising snakes) in Utah," said Krissy Wilson, native aquatic species coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Applicants would have to meet numerous requirements to earn and maintain the certificate, such as providing housing for their snakes with a number of safety measures to ensure snakes wouldn't be able to escape or hide. They would also have to have various tools and equipment to ensure safe handling and transportation of snakes, and pay a $100 annual registration fee.
"Public safety is our main concern," Wilson said. "We don't want a snake to escape from someone's home."
A number of factors such as age and criminal history would also apply. Renters would have to get landlord approval, and all city and local ordinances regarding dangerous animals would still apply.
Wilson said the change is meant in part to address people who may be keeping and breeding rattlers illegally, whether they know they are breaking the law or not.
"Lots of people say they know people who keep rattlers illegally," she said. "We're not trying to change the punishment for illegal holding."
She said illegal sales of reptiles happen online in Utah on a weekly basis.
As currently written, the proposal would allow registered holders to possess up to nine of each species, plus up to 25 offspring bred in captivity at any one time, for a total of 43 snakes. But at DWR regional advisory council meetings held around the state in recent weeks, many have expressed concern that the limit is too high.
Dix of Reptile Rescue said he doesn't have that many, and he's an experienced handler.
"I think that's too many for beginners," he said. "I think one male and two females, plus offspring, should be the overall limit. Twenty-four would be reasonable."
There is also considerable concern about allowing collection of the Midget Faded rattlesnake at all.
"We believe the Great Basin rattlesnake is very abundant, but we're not so sure about the Midget Faded," Wilson said, adding that while a Great Basin specimen might fetch between $50 and $65 on the market, a Midget Faded specimen could go for as much as $2,500.
"I'm concerned about the potential for exploitation for commercial gain and profiteering," said Dave Jensen, an amateur herpetologist in the state. "I think this ought be done only for scientific or educational purposes."
Weber County Sheriff Brad Slater, who is also chairman of the DWR advisory council for Northern Utah, said most cities in Weber County already have ordinances in place prohibiting venomous snake possession, so the discussion is a moot point in those areas.
"People who keep rattlesnakes that I've been aware of have done so illegally anyway," Slater said. "They may not be aware of the law, or there are others who have used snakes to dissuade the searching of areas where maybe narcotics are kept."
He said the issue raises a public safety question, but said the proposed regulations are "pretty stringent.
"If those things are held to, I don't see a great concern."
Most cities along the urban corridor of the Wasatch Front already have prohibitions in place.
The Northern advisory council has recommended reducing the proposed possession limit to 25 snakes, and to remove the Midget Faded rattlesnake from the proposal. Wyoming and Colorado, both of which legally allow venomous snake possession, have prohibitions on the Midget Faded variety.
The Utah Wildlife Board will take those recommendations into consideration before deciding whether to allow state residents to legally keep and breed rattlers.
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