United States Association of Reptile Keepers, Florida

FWC Hearing

Monday, April 11, 2022 10:00 AM | USARK FL (Administrator)

Do you have a license to keep reptiles? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking to regulate reptile businesses beyond the scope of their constitutional authority.  In effect, you will not have the same due process and private property rights as other small businesses in Florida. Speak your mind to FWC at the public hearing for rule 68A-6.003 on April 11th, 2022.  

 

FWC Hearing on rule 68A-6.003 

Monday, April 11, 2022 

10:00am-5:00pm 

Hilton UF Conference Center  

1714 SW 34th St 

Gainesville, FL 32607 

 


You must arrive by 10:00am to sign up to speak. Even if you do not plan to speak, your presence and that of anyone you are able to bring will be important. Please bring your family and friends. This hearing could mark a turning point in our struggle to continue to keep reptiles and other animals in Florida.  We know it is on a Monday.  It is worth clearing your calendar to attend. 

 

Background 

 

FWC appears to have recently ramped up the denial and revocation of captive wildlife licenses. Their actions seem to demonstrate a strategy of denying licenses based on paperwork errors and other technical violations not related to the actual care or well-being of animals.  


While FWC maintains that they do not anticipate a dramatic increase in revocations, they do admit that the number would increase, even if "violations" were for only paperwork or other trivial matters. It is difficult to deny that the addition of pages of new captive wildlife regulations in recent years will produce an increase in violations due to the difficulty of complying with these complex rules. FWC says that they anticipate a cost savings for the agency because they won’t have to inspect facilities that have had their permits revoked. 

 

What does FWC rule 68A-6.003 do? 

 

  • This rule deprives small business owners involved in the keeping of reptiles and other animals of due process rights and private property rights. 

 

  • It makes it easier for FWC to revoke or deny licenses and confiscate animals.  

 

  • It punishes associates of reptile keepers for violations committed by other people.  

 

  • Under this rule, a business owner’s license could be revoked because of a violation by an employee.

 

  • A family member’s freedom to keep animals may be infringed because of a violation by another family member. This is like everyone in a household losing their driver’s licenses because one member of the family had his license suspended.

 

The history and text of the rule may be found at this link: 

https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleno.asp?id=68A-6.003 

 

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