Friday, October 14, 2011

This is a Crime?


Driver with snakes arrested on I-75
"Mr. Mesa had 10 snakes and three different lizard species in the vehicle,"

"The snakes were non-venomous," Cummings said. "Species included corn, coachwhip, pine, king and Southern hognose snakes – all native to Georgia – plus a rosy boa, a non-native snake. Mr. Mesa said he caught the snakes in Florida and was taking them to Indiana."

Authorities charged Mesa with one count of illegal possession of non-game wildlife without a permit, a misdemeanor. Mesa was booked into Cherokee County Jail and released Wednesday on a $5,000 bond.
All of those species, except the coachwhip, are very common in the pet trade and readily available at pet shops and especially the various reptile shows that go on across the nation. I've had 3 of those species myself. He had to go to jail because he had a snake? Was he charged with breaking a state law, or a federal law? It's only 1 count, so I assume only one snake was the problem? Which one?

There are so many laws in this country any one of us could go to jail for something we didn't even know was a crime. It seems like everything we use to do for fun as a child is now a illegal.

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