Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Siezed snake by Fish and Game

[mburleson]

My son saved a California king snake from being destroyed by a shovel 1.5 years ago and has kept it in an aquarium since then. He took good care of the snake but wanted to use the space for something else. He decided to sell it on Craig's list since that would make sure it would get a good home. California fish and game arranged a "sting" to get the snake and impounded it. He was cited CCRT14 40 and now has to go to court in San Jose, CA. What might the amount be he will have to pay for this? Obviously he didn't know it was illegal or he would not have advertised on Craig's list.
Thank you.

 

[seniorjudge]

CCRT14 40

This is not a correct statute citation.

 

[mburleson]

The regulation is California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 14 (T 14) Section 40. Please uderstand we are not going to fight this as we now know it is illegal to do this. We just want to see how much it might cost and to let others know it is against the law to capture native species and sell them.
The following is a cut and paste of the URL for the code we violated;
http://weblinks.westlaw.com/Search/...FIND&title=14&RS=WEBL8.04&VR=2.0&SPa=CCR-1000

 

[mburleson]

The regulation on the citation was CCRT14 40. Searching the California fish and game web site I found Title 14, Division 1, Subdivision 1, Chapter 5, s 40 General Provisions Relating to Native Reptiles and Amphibians. They don't make it easy to find this and yet expect everyone to know about it. Don't get me wrong. I agree with the law and expect to pay the fine. We need to protect our wildlife. It just seems that there are better ways to do this. My son worked at PetSmart for 2 years and never heard of this.