A federal judge in Valdosta, Georgia, yesterday sentenced Ashtyn Michael Rance, 35, to 33 months in prison on each count to run concurrently, a $4,300 fine and three years of post-release supervision. The judge also prohibited Rance from owning or selling wildlife during the watch period. Rance pleaded guilty on November 18, 2021 to violations of the Lacey Act and unlawful possession of firearms.

In pleading guilty, Rance admitted that on February 22, 2018, he shipped three Eastern Box Turtles and 16 Spotted Turtles from Valdosta to a customer in Florida, in a package falsely labeled as containing tropical fish and common lizards. . He was paid $3,300 for the turtles and knew they were then trafficked to China.

Rance further admitted that on May 10, 2018, he shipped 15 Gaboon vipers from Valdosta to Florida. The snakes were worth around $900 and were also headed for a buyer in China. He falsely labeled the package as containing harmless reptiles and ball pythons. Rance had legally imported 100 Gaboon vipers and other venomous snakes from Africa to Atlanta. He received a special permit to transport the snakes out of Georgia, but then returned to Valdosta with 16 vipers.

Rance owned and sold the reptiles in violation of Georgian laws. The federal Lacey Act is the nation’s oldest wildlife trafficking law and prohibits, among other things, the transportation of wildlife in interstate commerce if the wildlife is illegal under state law. It is also a violation of the Lacey Law to falsely label a package containing wild animals.

The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttatalisten)) is a semi-aquatic turtle native to the eastern United States and the Great Lakes region. The eastern box turtle (terrapene carolina carolina) is endemic to forested regions of the East Coast and Midwest. Collectors enjoy both species in the domestic and overseas pet trade market, where they are resold for thousands of dollars. The Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonicalisten)) is native to central sub-Saharan Africa. Its venom can cause shock, unconsciousness or death in humans. Authorities intercepted the package containing the vipers to minimize the risk of it being bitten or escaping.

Additionally, Rance admitted to possessing a Bushmaster Carbine .223 caliber rifle and a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun at his Valdosta residence which he was prohibited from possessing as a convicted felon.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Office in Vero Beach, Florida, ATF and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources conducted the investigation as part of the Southern Surge Task Force’s Operation Middleman . The operation concerned the trafficking of reptiles from the United States to China. The government is represented by General Counsel Ryan Connors of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and Assistant United States Attorney Sonja Profit for the Central District of Georgia.

DULUTH — The owner of an animal act booked as a stage show for the Duluth Sport Show is being called out for a past violation of a New York animal welfare law.

Grant Kemmerer, owner of the Pennsylvania-based Wild World of Animals, was fined $3,750 in 2016 for violating New York laws banning people from taking “selfie” photos with a baby tiger.

Kemmerer said he was unaware of state law at the time and allowed a few people at a private event to have their picture taken with a baby tiger.

Kemmerer recently got his New York state license to show wild animals on TV shows through 2022 after a complaint he allowed certain TV hosts, including Jimmy Fallon and Rachael Ray, to touch some animals.

Kemmerer said he believes state regulations on handling his animals apply to the general public and not to private events or TV show staff booking his animals.

“If I had known it was somehow against the rules, I wouldn’t have let the pictures be taken because you know they’ll end up on social media,” Kemmerer told the News Tribune. state of abuse, neglect or cruelty to animals. It’s just an invention.

Kemmerer’s animal show is scheduled for several appearances during the Duluth Sport Show at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center from February 17-20. Kemmerer said his number at the Duluth show and the La Crosse, Wis., sports show from Feb. 10-13 never planned to include big cats. Instead, his show will include lizards, a scorpion, a python, an owl hawk, a hybrid hawk, large rodents, a sloth and other wild animals.

“I guarantee you’ll learn something new about wildlife,” he said.

“Wild World of Animals” is typical of many numbers booked for the Duluth Sport Show or Duluth Ice Fishing Show in recent years featuring a sea lion stage number, wrestling bear, birds of prey and a squirrel waterskiing behind a small boat in a large reservoir.

“We get these chain letters of protest almost every year. I bet I have 1,000 emails, whatever animal act we book,” said Chris Navratil of Shamrock Productions, owner of the Duluth Sport Show. . “They even protested Twiggy the squirrel waterskiing.”

Navratil said she was undeterred by the protests and that the “Wild World of Animals” show would continue as planned. She said she did a thorough background check on Kemmerer and found no major issues.

Kemmerer, who has worked with animals for more than 30 years, says he holds several state permits as well as federal permits from the US Fish and Wildlife, US Department of the Interior and US Department of Agriculture. He has been a guest animal expert on nationally televised shows including “The Tonight Show”, “Anderson Cooper 360”, “Fox and Friends”, “The Martha Stewart Show”, and “The Meredith Vieira Show”.

Kemmerer has been targeted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and by animal rights activist Timothy Harrison, who made the documentary film “The Conservation Game,” about animal abuse by big cat shows, pet owners. dog and cat facilities. The documentary includes “Tiger King” stars Carole and Howard Baskin and famous former zookeeper Jack Hannah, who Harrison says used abused animals for TV show appearances.

“Once his (Kemmerer’s) animals reach their expiration date and cannot be safely released to the public, they will be placed in Ma and Pa’s backyard menageries, auctions to be sold at untrained individuals or horrible roadside zoos,” Harrison said in an email. letter to the News Tribune. “Our documentary shows all of this, as well as Grant’s illegal activity in New York. …”

Kemmerer said all of the big cats shown in the documentary remain at his facility in Pennsylvania, except for one who now lives in a compound.

A website dedicated to debunking Harrison’s claims alleges he fabricated many of his claims.

Kemmerer noted that PETA opposes all zoos, all animal acts, most pet owners and all pet breeding, and the consumption of milk and to the consumption of eggs or meat of any kind. The group also opposes all hunting and fishing.

Florida restricts the possession and private breeding of certain exotic animals, including Burmese pythons, green iguanas and tegu lizards, citing concerns about invasive species invading the state. This decision is met with strong opposition from enthusiasts and reptile dealers.

“The environment trumps livelihoods over it, unfortunately,” said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He and his colleagues voted unanimously on Thursday to support the policies. “It’s not an easy decision, but it’s a decision we have to make.”

The rules prohibit people from owning as pets or raising for sale any animals, including: Nile monitor lizard, Burmese python, North African python, reticulated python, tegu lizards, iguanas greens, the southern African python, the amethystine python or the brush python. Some, like the iguana and the Burmese python, are well established and breed in Florida. Others, like reticulated pythons which can grow to over 20 feet, are not, but state wildlife regulators say they want to avoid problems before they arise. They worry about escaped and released animals that create or increase wild populations.

“These animals do a lot of damage,” said Commissioner Robert Spottswood.

People who have iguanas and tegus will not need to return or kill them immediately. Owners can keep currently legal pets until they die. Some breeders will be allowed to import and own species in the future, under specific conditions, for limited uses such as exhibitions or research. They will also be able to capture wild tegus and iguanas for sale or send them out of state, according to a state submission, and the ban on breeding these lizards for commercial sales will not begin until 2024.

Critics tried Thursday to dissuade the commissioners, describing their personal attachment to reptiles. People misunderstand snakes and lizards, they said, comparing their chosen pets to dogs and cats. Several callers logged into the meeting from out of state.

“People who own reptiles have a mental and emotional connection with them,” said Nicole Tisdale, who said she has reptiles living in Maryland and reconsidered moving to Florida due to the new rules. “They are part of our family, they are part of our being.”

Ahead of the vote, Melissa Tucker, who heads the commission’s Habitat and Species Conservation Division, described the problems invasive reptiles are causing in Florida. She said the warm climate is beneficial for animals that don’t belong here and that displace or kill native wildlife.

Tegus, for example, are a troublesome lizard in several areas, including Hillsborough County, and are known to eat alligator eggs and compete with gopher turtles for burrows. Green iguanas undermine roads by digging in South Florida and devour homeowners’ plants.

The reptile trade can be worth up to $ 200 million a year in Florida, according to Tucker, but the species affected by the rule are part of a market that includes thousands of animals. She said regulators are aware of about 120 licensees statewide who have inventories of tegus or iguanas and a few dozen dealers who sell reptiles such as the listed snakes.

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The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spends more than $ 8 million a year to manage invasive species, Tucker said, including nearly $ 1 million for the Argentine black-and-white tegu.

Critics questioned the accuracy of the agency’s financial assessments and accused Tucker of “sensationalizing.” Cutting back on wildlife trade, especially key lizards such as tegus and iguanas, they said, will affect related operations, including food suppliers and shipping companies.

Miranda Hill, owner of a reptile business in Daytona Beach, said last year that she bought more than $ 12,000 of exotic animals, paying $ 50 or $ 100 in shipping costs with each ordered.

“No one is saying these wild animals are not a problem,” she said.

Several callers said they would accept tighter regulations or tighter licensing policies, but that an outright ban was government abuse. The new rule, they said, does nothing to reduce current wildlife populations while isolating cautious breeders and hobbyists who could help the state capture problem snakes and lizards.

“You are creating a rule that creates criminals out of law-abiding citizens,” said Anthony Green, owner of Anthony’s Exotic Rescues in Tampa. Some opponents have predicted an increase in black market transactions.

Chris Cannarozzi, who said he runs a reticulated python breeding operation in Gainesville, described how the new rules could threaten a career that has taken decades to build.

“If this ban passes, everything I worked for will be lost,” he said. “Not every invasive animal contemplated will turn into this Burmese python situation.”

Proponents countered that it made little sense for Florida to spend money catching and killing animals that people are then allowed to keep and buy as pets.

Take the iguanas, said Kate MacFall of the Humane Society: “If the owners regularly tried to kill these lizards, sometimes without success, their neighbor can buy one for a small fee.

Pedro Ramos, director of the Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, said billions of dollars in taxes are being spent to restore habitats in South Florida, but that investment will be wasted if Burmese pythons continue to devastate deer, raccoons and other native wildlife.

“We’re not going to do it for a bunch of weeds and animals that don’t belong here to begin with,” Ramos said. “This alien problem may well be – and I don’t think I’m exaggerating in saying – the problem of our time.”