The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is looking for qualified people willing to adopt exotic pets through it’s Exotic Pet Amnesty Program.
"Our goal here is to keep animals from being released into the wild areas of Florida," said program coordinator Liz Barraco. "We allow people with exotic pets to surrender them to us with no questions asked and no penalties."
Barraco says people usually bring in animals that can be easily bought in a pet store, like iguanas and turtles, but they get rare animals as well.
"Coatimundis. Kinkajous. And we do see a lot of reptile species such as Burmese pythons and boa constrictors," she said.
State wildlife officials then match the animals with people who can care for them.
More than 1900 pets have been adopted through the program since 2006.
To find out more about adopting an exotic pet, visit MyFWC.com/nonnatives.
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