Who is turning loose hyacinth macaws?

This is a hyacinth macaw. It is not a reptile.

On or about 1 Jan 08, NBC Nightly News had a piece on new laws taking effect 1 Jan 08 one of which was a Florida law for microchipping exotic pets manifestly to deal with the turning loose of pets such as Burmese pythons. The first pet illustrated was a hyacinth macaw, a pet of cost >$12,000 and unlikely to be set free by the owner. Should any Florida owner feel a need to turn loose a hyacinth macaw, please contact IPBiz immediately.

Of other exotica, the recent cold weather in Florida caused iguanas to fall from trees.

yahoonews reported:

How cold was it in South Florida this week? So cold the iguanas fell from the trees.

(...)

While many of the iguanas will wake up, they could face death if low temperatures persist. Iguanas can sustain cold for between four and 10 hours before they have to wake up, Magill said.

"The populations have expanded so drastically (that) when we do experience a really good cold snap, it will kill off a lot of them," said Kenneth Krysko, a herpetologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. "It is a good thing. They're not native, and they're considered a nuisance."

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In passing, IPBiz notes that, although Brian Williams frequently tells viewers to go to the msnbc website, the msnbc website totally sucks as to finding news stories which have appeared on Nightly News.

In the case of the story on Florida's exotic pet law, one can understand why NBC might not discuss the story further. The Florida law only applies to certain reptiles, so that the hyacinth macaw was irrelevant, and NBC "got it wrong."

from petpeopleplace:

The new laws regulate the possession of six reptile species labeled as "reptiles of concern". Owners are required to have microchips implanted into their pets for identification purposes. Because many exotic reptile species can freely adapt to the local Florida environment, wild breeding populations can freely arise - causing problems for native wildlife. A breeding population of pythons has been found in Everglades National Park and the Nile monitors have established territory in Cape Coral on Florida's West coast. (...)The reptile species affected are Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons, African rocky pythons, amethystine or scrub pythons, green anacondas and Nile monitors. The legislation also now requires permits for red-eared slider turtles, makes it illegal to allow them to reproduce, and requires all eggs to be destroyed.

from Sun-Sentinel:

Wildlife officers hope the rules will help them keep better tabs on Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons, African rocky pythons, amethystine or scrub pythons, green anacondas and Nile monitors.