Ty Park has been keeping and breeding reptiles for more than half a century, and is currently concentrating on propagation and conservation of Cyclura, Ctenosaura, and Hydrosaura lizards at his reptile farm in Florida.

The reptile trade changed dramatically in the 1970s and 80s, when the industry began a shift from a wild-caught/import model to a captive-born/domestically produced model. By the 1990s, some hobbyist breeders had developed their knowledge, skills and tradecraft into large scale commercial farms and breeding facilities. Supplying everyone from hobbyists and small retailers to major distributors and big box retailers such as Petco and PetSmart with millions of captive bred reptiles and amphibians, these farms have significantly reduced colection pressures on wild populations. Although thousands of animals are still imported for the reptile trade, captive-bred reptiles and amphibians now predominate the animals available in the North American marketplace.

Real estate developer, businessman, and longtime reptile hobbyist Ty Park, from Ty's Lizards in Punta Gorda, Florida, was one of the breeders who made the jump from hobbyist to commercial breeder in the late 80s. His business, Lasco Inc./Ty's Lizards, is one of the largest suppliers of captive-bred reptiles and amphibians to the retail supply chain. Producing tens of thousands of cold blooded pets annually, Park's business, along with other commercial breeding facilities, was substantially responsible for the shift of the marketplace to the captive-born model and away from the wild-caught.

While keeping a relatively low profile in the reptile community, Park is best known for his many donations over the years at charity auctions held at reptile events around the United States every year, donating tens of thousands of dollars to reptile and amphibian conservation organizations and causes, such as the International Reptile Conservation Foundation. Additionally he joined the National Reptile and Amphibian Advisory Council in the spring of 2012, serving as Vice-Chairman of the Steering Committee, responsible for setting the goals and direction of the educational organization and its annual reptile and amphibian law event.

Ty Park will be a panelist at the 2014 Reptile and Amphibian and the Law Symposium. For more information and to register to attend the event in Washington, D.C., March 7-8, 2014, please click here.