Animal-rights advocates are worried that dangerous exotic serpents, although illegal to keep as pets in Toronto, are increasingly easy to buy through the Internet.
Some Ontario municipalities have bylaws that prohibit the possession of exotic animals, but that legislation hasn't stopped on-line sales of dangerous snakes, said Liz White, director of the Animal Alliance of Canada. "Most of them are just simply ordered over the Internet."
The sale of dangerous vipers has snake breeders defending their business after a venomous pet snake escaped from its tank in an apartment building, forcing people in a downtown Toronto neighbourhood indoors while emergency officials searched for it. The snake was finally captured inside the apartment when it ventured from its hiding place.
Michael Baran, owner of Dragon Farms, the province's only venomous-snake farm, said there has been an explosion of interest in reptiles, especially the venomous variety.
"There's probably the largest community of venomous snakes in Ontario as there would be comparable to any U.S. state with the exception of Florida," he said.
Mr. Baran, 43, who has been in the snake business as a collector and breeder for 33 years, said he recently moved his operation to Port Colborne because of Toronto's exotic-pet bylaw.
Mr. Baran said he is getting out of selling snakes to the public. "I will deal only with professionals, zoos, venom-extraction labs. We will not sell. I don't think it's controlled properly here to sell any more."
Mr. Baran said he has a Web site for information purposes only. The problem is not the Internet, he said, but an unregulated market. "There's too much trading, bartering and giving away and back-and-forth nonsense."
But Ms. White called for a total ban on the sale of dangerous animals. "We need legislative change . . . The fight is with the government to ban this stuff," she said.
The cost of a venomous snake ranges from $1,600 to $3,000, but one can be bought for as little as $95, Ms. White said.
Workers in the exotic-pets sector say the market is simply responding to demand.
"There are a lot of collectors now from what I can see," said Mark Guincho, 17, partner and manager of Dragon Farms' retail store on Queen Street West, which sells only non-venomous snakes. "I get a few calls a week from people looking to buy."
The part-time high-school student said exotic reptiles are usually bought to breed by "older guys in their mid-40s who want to secure the species."
He said that "it's more than a hobby, it's captive propagation," because institutions can't breed every species that is in danger of extinction.
"A zoo can't breed every endangered species because there aren't enough zoos," he said.
Mr. Baran, who says he has 300 adult snakes at the farm, said dangerous snakes possess a rare appeal. "If you begin to examine their body language, there's certain appealing elements to it. They're very graceful and very mystical.
"Venomous snakes are one of the highest forms of evolution on the planet," he said. "They use their venom to control their prey and predigest it. It makes them extremely efficient."