Changes to Victorian Licensing

[Varanus1]

Hey guys, i'm interested to know if anyone has any further knowledge as to the addition of certain species to the Victorian "keep list"? I'm aware that a motion has been made towards the DSE for including species like Rough scaled pythons, Pygmy pythons etc (Snake Ranch are now even taking deposits from Vic residents for their Roughies!), but is anything actually being done? Are we likely to see a change in the near future?

Would like to hear from anyone who may have a bit of knowledge about the issue,

Regards,
Trent.

 

[moosenoose]

I've heard the same thing, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Interesting hearing about SnakeRanch taking deposits. Quite clearly they know something. Perhaps write to them and find out?

 

[junglepython2]

I've heard the same thing, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Interesting hearing about SnakeRanch taking deposits. Quite clearly they know something. Perhaps write to them and find out?

They know how to make free money

 

[moosenoose]

:lol: Oh yes, that non-refundable deposit clause written in fine print on the back of the order form

 

[NicG]

There are two potential changes that I'm curious about ...
a) Painted Turtles
b) Turtles with a carapace less than 10cm

Anyone heard anything?

 

[Varanus1]

E-mailing Snake Ranch was the first thing I did; from the sounds of thing they don't really know whats happening, only that some people are working towards making it happen.

I truly hope that the changes will be made soon, there are a number of species (not just snakes) that I am very keen to get my hands on!

 

[Sdaji]

They know how to make free money

It's one way to get an interest-free loan, huh? :lol:

It would require a big overhaul of the Victorian system to get Rough-scaled Pythons added to the Victorian schedules, because one of the legal requirements is that the species is secure in the wild. Rough-scaled Pythons are never going to satisfy this requirement, so no submission will be successful unless someone bends the rules, which is highly unlikely, or the entire system is changed. It's a government department, it's not possible for them to move quickly with this type of thing because of the procedures involved. It will probably happen, but I'm guessing it will be at least five years, and possibly 20 or more. Talk of putting some new species on was in discussion 10 years ago, and since then no progress has been made. In that time I can only think of one which has been added (Angle-headed Dragons) and they were easy to get on because they were being bred at a government facility in Victoria (Healsville Sanctuary), and are secure in the wild. Staff at the Melbourne zoo a few years ago said they would be more than happy to sell me Broad-headed Snakes if it was legal, but they hadn't been able to get the red tape sorted out, which of course, is because that species isn't secure in the wild either. They'll quite likely get Pygmy Pythons on our system within five years, and possibly things like asper, amyae, Boyds' Dragons, Magnificent Treefrogs, and several others, but things like Broad-headed Snakes, Rough-scaled Pythons, Kimberley Rock Monitors, etc etc are not at all likely in the short term.

Rumours like this have been going around for over 10 years. I can think of some rumours which were going around 15 years ago and still continue today, with no more chance of being true than back then.

 

[richardsc]

sencers and some turtle secies were also added as well as bredli,s,not just angle heads,wait till licence renewl time,im sure if things are added thats likely the time it will be done

 

[bowdnboy]

There is some truth to these rumours, however as to what species will be added or taken (put into different schedules) remains to be seen.

The regs laws that govern this issue sunsetted as I understand it shortly, or something similiar. I spoke to someone I know in DSE wildlife licensing around march last yr. They had taken in submissions from groups/individuals in relation to the adding /changing species/schedules etc (I cant remember how many in all were put in). He said that this would result in a RIS (regulatory impact statement) being produced, followed on by all the normal burocratic paperqwork shuffling, before the amendments even made it to parliment.

Amyway, some of the recomendations from people were things like moving Beardies onto Schedule 5 (I think its Schedule 5, anyway, the one you dont need a license for), also adding pygmy beardies (henrylawsonii) etc etc, not sure about any others. Back in March he said he hoped to have it sorted by the end of 2008 , start of 09, however when I spoke to him in late 08, it was still a bit away, but expected it to be completed sometime in the coming yr!

All I can say is watch this space. I might ring him 2morro and see where its all at.

 

[Varanus1]

All I can say is watch this space. I might ring him 2morro and see where its all at.

Thanks for the info. It would be much appreciated (i'm sure by myself and almost every other Vic keeper on APS) if you were able to get around to giving him a call, cheers mate.

 

[gman78]

I hope they move faster... but unlikely

 

[Sdaji]

sencers and some turtle secies were also added as well as bredli,s,not just angle heads,wait till licence renewl time,im sure if things are added thats likely the time it will be done

What year were Spencers added? There was a change of a turtle's name a few years ago, but it was just a case of a name correction. I can't recall the new species of turtles being added, but I wouldn't have taken much notice; which ones were they? Bredli were on the system from the start, the change was that they moved from an advanced category down to a more basic one. A number of species have moved across categories, but that's completely different from them being added when before they were not allowed to be kept at all - one is a trivial thing, the other is as difficult as splitting the atom. It was no problem to "add" Stimson's and Spotted Pythons, because all they were doing was renaming what was previously kept as 'Children's'. Even with that issue, there have been some big fights involving species you'd think would be quite trivial to add, such as panoptes (goanna) and wellsi (Death Adder), and neither seems at all likely to be added any time soon, mainly due to political issues.

 

[Chrisreptile]

(Snake Ranch are now even taking deposits from Vic residents for their Roughies!)

When that came up on the SR website, i was straight in there with an e-mail and was ready for a deposit.

August 08
"Our expectations are for very late this year at the earliest, and mid-
next year at the latest. But its admittedly still an 'iffy' proposition. You might be
better off holding off for a couple of months before reconsidering whether to
go for a deposit on roughies, a little birdie has whispered in my ear that we'll at
the least know more by the end of this year. Sorry for not painting a more
positive or definite picture"

 

[Bushfire]

I was told sometime between now and at the latest 2012. Why 2012, well its the date the the entire wildlife reg gets reviewed. Originally they came out in 1992, and then we had major changes in the 2002 review (ie. reduce lic cat from 3 to 2) so the next major review is in 2012. The single biggest change I think you guys should push for at this time is to have an open Advanced license like SA's Specialist lic and NSW Class 2 lic, so new species can be added as they become legally available without going through this crap like now. The turtle that got added was the Northern Long-neck.