Three Louisiana pine snakes (Pituophis ruthveni), one of the nation’s rarest snake species, have been released into Kisatchie National Forest. This brings the total number of pine snakes released in the area over the past two years to 30. Native only to Louisiana and Texas, the snake was listed as a candidate for Endangered Species […]

Mark ‘Mack’ Wolford, a 44-year-old venomous snake-handling minister of Full Gospel Apostolic House of the Lord Jesus in Matoaka, West Virginia, died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 27, while Wolford was presiding over a service in Panther State Forest. He was taken

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced its support for the first significant conservation assessment of Asian snakes. This assessment, released on June 19, 2012 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), adds 348 snake species native to China and Southeast Asia to the IUCN Red List. According to a USFWS press

In what can only be described as overwhelming opposition to a proposed exotic animal ban in Ohio last Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture, Environment & Natural Resources Committee entertained testimony for 6 hours from a gallery where opponents outnumbered proponents by more than 15-1. As expected the Committee made some minor concessions passing a Committee Substitute

The city of West Fargo, North Dakota voted on July 16 to uphold its local ordinance banning constricting snakes and other exotic animals. This decision came after resident Robert Butts III requested a change to allow constricting snakes as pets within the city. Butts III owns an 8-foot Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) and a