Long Island, NY Reptile Expo in Trouble

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Changes to the Long Island Reptile Expo

Dear Vendors and Loyal Visitors to the Reptile Expo:

As some of you already know, we have only recently been made aware that it is illegal to buy, sell, or own constricting snakes, and many spiders in the Town of Islip. Unfortunately, the Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood is located in the Town of Islip. We have been informed by the Town of Islip Supervisor that we can no longer hold the Long Island Reptile Expo there.

We have fought this decision since October. Our lawyers have worked tirelessly to find a way to continue the Expo. The College has been marvelous and has supported us every step of the way. They are devastated to lose us.

We are looking for a new venue for the show. It is challenging because we have found that many towns on Long Island (in both Nassau and Suffolk counties) have similar laws on the books. Nevertheless, we are in discussions with venues that we hope will allow us to have the October 6, 2024 show. We will keep you posted.

In the meantime, Suffolk County Community College has asked us to try to continue to address this decision and have suggested we hold onto our October date with them. We will be emailing you with ideas on how you can help us in this fight.

As you can imagine, we are absolutely heartbroken. Nevertheless, we will persevere. We have identified some venues that may not have prohibitive laws and we will have our lawyers researching if it is legal to use them. If you know of a venue that is at least 13,000 square feet that may be able to house us, please email Layne at bruce@reptileexpo.com. You just never know what is out there.

Stay on top of all of the Reptile Expo's news! You can sign up to be on our mailing list by going to our website, www.reptileexpo.com, and scrolling down the page until you see the sign up link. Or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/reptileexposition.

We are strong and we will overcome this. Stayed tuned.

Sincerely,
Meredith and Layne