Exotic Pet Amnesty Day set for Oct. 4

September 22, 2014

 

 

Photos available on FWC’s Flickr site. Go to: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjxR9XZX.

 

 

Suggested Tweet: Pet Amnesty Day @PalmBeachZoo with @MyFWC Oct. 4 from 10am to 2pm https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/d0c6f7 #Florida

 

Exotic Pet Amnesty Day set for Oct. 4

 

The second annual Exotic Pet Amnesty Day for Palm Beach County will be Oct. 4 at the former Garden Club building in Dreher Park, behind the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society and next to the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium (address: 4800 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach). The public is invited to surrender any exotic animals they have been keeping as pets – no penalties and no questions asked.

Surrendered animals will be accepted between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. These animals will be checked by a veterinarian and made available for adoption by experienced individuals who are capable of caring for them. Animals that will be accepted for surrender include reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates. Domestic animals will not be accepted.

Exotic Pet Amnesty Day is hosted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Everglades Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (ECISMA) and the Zoo, and is sanctioned by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

The event is free and open to the public. Live animals will be on display, and experts from the FWC, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society will be on hand for conversations and questions about exotic pets.

The surrendered animals will be made available for adoption after 2 p.m. Exotic pet adopters must be experienced and must have already applied and been approved by the FWC. Would-be adopters must bring their acceptance letters with them. Adopter applications can be found at MyFWC.com/Nonnatives. Becoming an adopter is free.

For additional information about this event, call the FWC’s Exotic Species Hotline at 888-Ive-Got1 (888-483-4681). Exotic pet owners who cannot attend this event can call this number for assistance in finding a new home for their animal.

High-resolution images from the first Palm Beach County Pet Amnesty Day, courtesy Kelly Miller, are available at www.dropbox.com/sh/reua9eaqcuytggb/AABUpkletwSq-3ws_IFaf3PDa?dl=0.

For more information about adopting exotic pets, visit MyFWC.com/Nonnatives and click on “Exotic Pet Amnesty Program.”

For more information about the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, visit www.palmbeachzoo.org.

 

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