As an Alabama resident and conservationist, I oppose the short-sighted amendments to the ADCNR Protected Nongame Species regulation. My two points of concern with the current proposal are:

ban on possession, propagation, and sales of all king snake species (Lampropeltis spp.),
ban on propagation, sales, and possession of more than one box turtle (Terrapene spp.).
While I fully support protecting our native species in the wild (and contribute to their conservation myself), these proposed bans lack forethought and logic. First, many species of both king snakes and box turtles are not native to Alabama. For state non-native species, and also natives, many people have been breeding them under human care for multiple generations over many decades. There is almost no market for wild-caught king snakes as people buying them want captive-bred animals. Regarding box turtles, illogical bans actually encourage and drive the demand higher for wild-caught animals. When we are not allowed to keep and breed these animals, the demand does not decrease. Instead, the illegal black market prices skyrocket and poaching actually increases rather than decreases. We have witnessed this for many U.S species including box turtles, spotted turtles, and diamondback terrapins. Bans are a backward approach that make the problem worse!

For king snakes, many species are very popular as pets and are sold in all pet stores selling reptiles, including major chains. Again, these are captive-bred and not wild-collected animals! The sales of these snakes bred under human care protect the wild populations while also increasing the global populations. This regulation will impact many Alabama residents, especially those who break this new law as they would never imagine that species common as pets for decades have been banned. Studies have shown that over 250,000 Alabama residents have pet reptiles. Is the plan to make criminals of many of these responsible pet owners? Even if grandfather permits are allowed, many pet owners will never know that their innocuous pets now require permits.

ADCNR needs to rethink this proposal or our wild populations of these species will actually be harmed rather than helped. In-state herpetoculturists (people who keep reptiles and amphibians) are always willing to work with ADCNR but the agency does not utilize our willingness to collaborate. Please stop these bans and create a legitimate regulation to protect these species.