Wow..

[puyopop]

This guy is a joke..

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Customs find reptile haul on man

[KING_GONZO]

are you serious

[C.Bruno]

WOW... THAT IS SOMETHING U DONT SEE EVERYDAY!

[aliconda]

the guys a nutter! but at least the BBC can work out that royals are only small and not venomous

[Danny_mcr]

at least he didn't shove them up his arse

[puyopop]

i wonder what he is gonna get for all that ?

[ophidianman]

Heh heh. A bit of deja vu with that photo of the guy.

About 20 years or so ago (as a 'middleman') I brokered a load of assorted mexicana for some Swedish or Danish guys who I met up with in London. After the deal was done I was really surprised to see them removing all the snakes from their traveling boxes and then putting them into socks. The socks were then clipped onto an elasticated belt for wearing under their shirts in exactly the same way.

I had no idea at the time that you had to smuggle 'common' species into the Scandinavian countries. Unlike this unfortunate fellow they made it through!!

Incidentally are there any 'survivors' on this forum from the 'Operation Cleopatra' customs sting / bust back in the 80s' when lots of people got stopped and searched in a big customs operation after a Dutch Snake Day? This was back in the days of when the show was held on the University campus in Utrecht. The tabloid press had a field day with those unfortunate enough to be busted.

[Natrix]

Originally Posted by aliconda

the guys a nutter! but at least the BBC can work out that royals are only small and not venomous

Or is he just a genuine reptile lover that has had the misfortune to live in a country where all reptiles are banned?

How many people on here have said they wouldn't give up their hobby even if the Anties got the Government to ban reptile keeping?

He will now be severly punished as will the animals he was bringing in. Going on similar past events in Norway the animals are probably already dead.

Natrix

[Natrix]

Originally Posted by puyopop

This guy is a joke..

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Customs find reptile haul on man

The post below appeared on several forums about four years ago and might help put the above story into perspective.

I've not heard from or of Våålen since.

Natrix

Dear Group

I am sorry for cross posting this over various mailing lists, forums and
bothering you with off topic threads. The below text is a description of the
legislation around herptiles in Norway and the implications of getting
caught with illegal animals.
As you may know, herptiles are illegal to keep, breed, import and export in
Norway. Norway is 1 out of 2-3 countries in the world where herptiles are illegal. For what reasons?
In Hawaii herptiles are illegal (as far as I understand) because animals who
escape from private collections are likely to reproduce and may cause a
potential threat to native flora and fauna. This is in my opinion a
reasonable reason for banning herptiles in Hawaii.
In Norway the situation is totally different, here the winter is long, cold
and there are extremely few herptile species that can survive the harsh
climatic condition of the Norway country-region. Why reptiles are illegal in my country?
Your guess is as good as mine, probably due to prejudice against herptiles
from the part of politicians uneducated on the matter.
Animals confiscated by the Norwegian government are put to death (perhaps
with very rare exceptions in the cases of extremely rare and endangered
species).
Thursday the police came knocking on my door and all my animals are now
considered confiscated. My house is sealed off with police tape and no one
is allowed to go into it.
On Monday the police will return to my house with the district veterinary to
confiscate my animals. At a near point in the future my animals will most
likely be put to death and there is little I can do about it except hiring a
lawyer and hoping for a miracle. This is not a call for help for my part,
but on behalf of herptiles and herpetoculturists in my country.
I have started a roll call and hope to gather as many signatures as possible
as a peaceful protest, protest against the Norwegian government?s persecution
of herpetoculturists in Norway. I believe that the legislation in my country
is wrong and that all herptile species are not unjustifiable to keep as
captives. The Norwegian herpetological association has struggled for 12
years to lift the ban on herpetoculture in my country without success so
far. We can,t seem to put enough pressure on our government to make things
happen.
The roll call I have initiated is also a protest and sharp criticism against
animals being confiscated and put to death as a consequence of the Norwegian
legislation.
If you agree that governments shouldn’t be so restrictive as to ban all
herpetoculture within a country, please take the time to visit the below
link and sign the roll call.
Link now gone
Please feel free to pass
this post onto other relevant mailing lists and forums so that as many
people as possible may sign this role call if they wish.
Again I am sorry to occupy your time with this kind of inquiry, have a nice
day.
Best regards
Våålen Gåånev (obeligz)
Committee member of the Norwegian Herpetological Association

[cuillan]

heres another one for you

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Garden gnomes hid smuggled snakes