# Countries and DWA



## O L I V E R (Jul 17, 2011)

Hi Everybody,

Im new on this forum.
I have got half a dozen non-venomous snakes but, I regularly practice moving (with a snake hook) and maintaining venomous snakes; as a gentlemen I know has got quite a few and trains me on a regular basis.
What I was wondering is there any countries in europe that dont require DWA licenses to purchase DWA as, i am probably going to be spending a lot of time in europe soon and, if I can get some DWA without paying the ridiculous prices, I would love it.
Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Oliver


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

O L I V E R said:


> Hi Everybody,
> 
> Im new on this forum.
> I have got half a dozen non-venomous snakes but, I regularly practice moving (with a snake hook) and maintaining venomous snakes; as a gentlemen I know has got quite a few and trains me on a regular basis.
> ...


A DWAL is only applicable to the UK. 

Eire doesnt have a liscening system. But Germany does. You will have to check with each country individualy.


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

As above, the DWA is strictly a UK license - it does not apply to any other country in the world, but every country/government may have it's own protocol and licensing/requirements, so you would have to do your research into each country individually. Some countries will then have different laws per area of the country (the USA is the big one for this though) and so you will also want to contact the local government in the area you're going to, just to double check. Some countries/states ban venomous animals altogether and others may have strict regulations on what species can be moved over the border, although again this applies more to international than Europe - you will want to double check anyway.

Furthermore, you state "ridiculous prices" as the reason you do not want to get a DWA in the UK - well the prices and rules/laws are far stricter in some other countries than the UK and also - the price in the UK varies from county to county - some counties the price is as low as £60! If you're going to head to Europe to avoid paying some fees, far easier to move into a neighbouring county.

If your visit to Europe is only temporary, just think long and hard about what will happen to those snakes when you decide to move back to the UK and do not have a license, and what you will do if you find yourself unable to sell/rehome them.


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## Razorscale (Feb 22, 2010)

Please correct me if im wrong, this is the way i read that:
"I want to go to europe to buy venomous snakes while im there, bring them back to the UK in the boot of my car and avoid all the DWA costs and licencing to keep them in a biscut tin under my bed":bash:
I added the biscut thin thing because this post reminds me of who shal not be spoke of.


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## chrismisk (Oct 6, 2008)

Razorscale said:


> Please correct me if im wrong, this is the way i read that:
> "I want to go to europe to buy venomous snakes while im there, bring them back to the UK in the boot of my car and avoid all the DWA costs and licencing to keep them in a biscut tin under my bed":bash:
> I added the biscut thin thing because this post reminds me of who shal not be spoke of.



Sounded like that to me too:whistling2:


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

Razorscale said:


> Please correct me if im wrong, this is the way i read that:
> "I want to go to europe to buy venomous snakes while im there, bring them back to the UK in the boot of my car and avoid all the DWA costs and licencing to keep them in a biscut tin under my bed":bash:
> I added the biscut thin thing because this post reminds me of who shal not be spoke of.


Having re-read the post I am inclined to agree. 

I had assumed the "extortinate prices" reffered to the application for DWAL.
However it appears to apply to the purchase of the actual animal. 

To the OP:

The price of animals on the DWA (especially snakes) in this country seems to me to be entirely reasonable - certainly not extortinate. 

If it is indeed your intention to purchase animals as listed on the DWA in this country abroard and illegally import them then I would suggest you give up now.

Not because I fear for your safety nor have any particular high and mighty attitude as regards the law. 

No.

Its because your broadcast your intentions of performing an illegal act on a public forum. And that makes you an idiot. And you will be caught. 

Have a nice day.


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## O L I V E R (Jul 17, 2011)

Wow,
Talk about jumping to conclusions.
I would never dream of importing animals into this country and, I hate the thought of it.
I simply asked as, I am probably going to be spending the next year in Europe unless business arrangements change.

So why I am there I thought I would take advantage of the restrictions in some countries and purchase myself an venomous snake.
I believe by doing this; I could gain further experience and knowledge about the keeping and overall maintenance involved with keeping venomous reptiles.
I do accept that people are concerned about the snakes welfare and, what I will be doing with it when I return to the UK and, honestly I foolishly hadnt taken that into account.
However after hearing from some of you I have accepted my error and, have now begun planning in further detail how I am going to do this.
On an added note I was referring to the actual license when I said ''ridiculous'', I apologise if that wasnt clear. The reason I said that is because, my local council wants to charge me near enough £1000 which I think is very steep, whereas I have been told in neighbouring counties it is much cheaper.

I would also like to add, thank you to Athravan for actually giving a helpful repsonse.

Cheers,
Oliver


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## O L I V E R (Jul 17, 2011)

Hi Everyone,

I have just spoken to work and, it looks like I am going to be spending next year in Europe.
From Febuary 2nd until December 30th 2012.
Six Months in Hungary and Six Months in Cyprus (Around about)
Unfortunatly due to the amount of time I am going to be spending in each country it is just not practical to have any animals to care for whilst I am there and, I have done some research and phoned a few people and I dont have anywhere where I can rehome at the end of my travels.
So I guess Im going to have to wait until I come back and, buy a new house in another (cheaper) county.

Anyway thanks for your help,
Oliver


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

O L I V E R said:


> Wow,
> Talk about jumping to conclusions.
> I would never dream of importing animals into this country and, I hate the thought of it.
> I simply asked as, I am probably going to be spending the next year in Europe unless business arrangements change.
> ...


Glad to hear it ! 

I apologise for somewhat going off on one. But the reason we (or at least I ) assumed that is because DWA means dangerous wild animal. DWAL is the licsence to keep. So you did actually ask about countries in which to purchase the animal....

Anyhow, good luck in Europe with the job etc. You should have a great time!: victory:


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## O L I V E R (Jul 17, 2011)

Hi,

Thank you and, I to apologise I did get rather hasty with some of the comments I received and I shouldnt of.
However thank you for wishing me luck and, Iwill probably speak to you all soon.
By the way I am changing my email address that is valid with this account, I have notified RFUK by using the contact us link.
Do any of you know if the policy allows me to change my email, cause I still want to use this forum but, must change my email address for security reasons to do with work.
I will be deleting my old email address after the change has been made to allow other internet users to use it.
Also how long does it take for them to reply, sorry i am new to this forum.

Cheers,
Oliver


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

You can change your email yourself - click user cp (top left) then "edit your details" and then the first option "edit email and password", you will need to change the email, then verify that you own that email by clicking the confirmation email, and it's done automatically then.


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

No worries.

There should be something in user cp... There is a link in the top left.

If not pm one of the mods, or there is a section near the bottom of the forums relating to forum admin. Admins are the guys in green at the massive list of people online.


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## O L I V E R (Jul 17, 2011)

Cheers everyone,
I have changed my email address and deleted the old one.
Atleast I can use my RFUK account still and, I used to get all kinds of spam with my old email so thats another added relief.

Cheers,
Oliver


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## snakekeeper (Oct 29, 2008)

its illegal to keep reptiles let alone venomous snakes in cyprus as far as i'm aware. Greece doesnt have DWAL.


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2011)

snakekeeper said:


> its illegal to keep reptiles let alone venomous snakes in cyprus as far as i'm aware. Greece doesnt have DWAL.


 
I would guess that is likey due to invasive species


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## snakekeeper (Oct 29, 2008)

Jaggers said:


> I would guess that is likey due to invasive species


Not sure if it's down to invasive species or what the reason is but the last time I checked it was illegal to keep reptiles privately. This was about 3 years ago mind you so things might have changed. Some countries have strange laws for example, I was told today by an Italian zoo director that it's illegal to keep any species of spiders in Italy simply because Bellusconi is arachnophobic. If there is any truth to that then I am speechless. As I mentioned previously, here in Greece there is no DWAL law per say but they do have another type of pet law which they simply do not enforce so anyone keeps whatever they like and the law seems to simple either turn a blind eye or not have a clue what to do. I remember when I was back in the UK, the London borough of Barnet was asking me for some real idiotic sums of money for a DWAL not to mention even worse vet fees and preconditions.


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## Herpalist (Jun 17, 2009)

You can still go herping in Cyprus though. There are vipers to be found and other herps to be discovered there.


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## snakekeeper (Oct 29, 2008)

Herpalist said:


> You can still go herping in Cyprus though. There are vipers to be found and other herps to be discovered there.


 Only one viper, Vipera lebetina or commonly known as the blunt nose viper.


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## mikeyb (May 8, 2011)

you can still gain expirience in cyprus mate with DWA montipellier are native out there cat snakes although i wouldnt say there medically significant and blunt nose vipers and im also hearing from friends out there someone truely ballsed up with a container load of water containers and managed to import a population on egyptian cobras so they have there own isolated population of them thats supposed to be doing quite well. although on an open forum im not prepared to tell u were sorry beware though cyprus is a hub for easter europe and the arab countries an u will come across some amazing creatures that shouldnt be there black widows, giant centipedes, camel spiders to name a few lol but the tarantulas have always been there and there fun to chase the mrs with thill the latch onto the top of your thumb lol. To me DWA is a double edged sword i love the idea but i dont like the idea of having one in my home if it out out and there is always that chance and if i got bit by something not native so i practice my venomous bit on our local adders while in the uk taking only photos and sheddings home and while abroad the same my theory is i get bit the local hospital deals with them bites all the time lol. Im probably completely wrong but it helps me sleep better at night lmao :lol2:


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## snakekeeper (Oct 29, 2008)

mikeyb said:


> you can still gain expirience in cyprus mate with DWA montipellier are native out there cat snakes although i wouldnt say there medically significant and blunt nose vipers and im also hearing from friends out there someone truely ballsed up with a container load of water containers and managed to import a population on egyptian cobras so they have there own isolated population of them thats supposed to be doing quite well. although on an open forum im not prepared to tell u were sorry beware though cyprus is a hub for easter europe and the arab countries an u will come across some amazing creatures that shouldnt be there black widows, giant centipedes, camel spiders to name a few lol but the tarantulas have always been there and there fun to chase the mrs with thill the latch onto the top of your thumb lol. To me DWA is a double edged sword i love the idea but i dont like the idea of having one in my home if it out out and there is always that chance and if i got bit by something not native so i practice my venomous bit on our local adders while in the uk taking only photos and sheddings home and while abroad the same my theory is i get bit the local hospital deals with them bites all the time lol. Im probably completely wrong but it helps me sleep better at night lmao :lol2:


Someone would have had to have been a complete 'genius' to import a pair of Egyptian cobras or for that matter a gravid female from North Africa to Cyprus and mother nature must have worked over time to bless the situation with pro-creation. God must have also touched upon the situation somewhat. Personally I find it a little difficult to believe, although I suppose nothing is impossible. I know that black widows are now common in some parts of Greece. As for camel spiders, two were brought to me and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Bloody aggressive sods!! If there have been any sightings of Egyptian cobras in Cyprus I would love to know where. I would be on the first plane out there to photograph them.


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