Polio could probably not have been conquered without thousands of monkeys to experiment on. Before regulation of such trade began in the late 20th century (strange to phrase it that way) it was legal to import all sorts of endangered animals. Even as a child, he bought and resold thousands of turtles, snakes, newts and other creepy crawly things. How this cat-and-mouse game ended is engrossing and surprising. Fish and Wildlife Service, who devoted years of his life in an obsessive quest to expose The Lizard King's cold-blooded crimes. Van Nostrand was suspected of being a reptile smuggler by Special Agent Chip Bepler of the U.S. Van Nostrand imports as many as 300,000 iguanas each year (over half the total of America's most popular imported reptile), as well as hundreds of thousands of snakes, lizards, frogs, spiders, and scorpions. Van Nostrand, owner of Strictly Reptiles, a thriving family business in Hollywood, Florida. But perhaps more dangerous was coming face to face with Michael J. In the course of his research, he was bitten between the eyes by a blood python, chased by a mother alligator, and sprayed by a bird-eating tarantula. When Bryan Christy began to investigate the world of reptile smuggling, he had no idea what he would be in for. Imagine The Sopranos, with snakes! The Lizard King is a fascinating account of a father and son family business suspected of smuggling reptiles, and the federal agent who tried to take them down.
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