Environment Minister Barry Penner was on hand at the Vancouver Aquarium on March 17 to announce new rules regulating alien species that pose the most serious threat to public safety. Here, assisted by aquarium staff, Minister Penner helps hold a South American boa constrictor. The provincial government has identified species that are a sufficient risk to public safety to warrant regulation. These include some types of mammals, amphibians and reptiles. The new Controlled Alien Species Regulation under the Wildlife Act contains a list of species that individuals are prohibited from possessing unless the animal was in B.C. prior to March 16, 2009. The regulation also includes restrictions on possessing, breeding, transporting and releasing animals that are currently in British Columbia.