The larger point is that that Rodda's paper merely indicates that the Big Nine *COULD* colonize those areas, not that they have or that they will.

Given the fact that there are alligators in VA in the Great Dismal Swamp already, the data behind the report is not that far-fetched. One only has to look at range maps and see that there are species of reptile that are typically found only in tropical and sub-tropical regions: the northern most part of this range includes southeastern VA.

I for would like to see the reptile dealers, owners, and breeders step up to the plate and be more proactive about dealing with the problem that they have created (accidentally or deliberately), instead of merely resisting efforts to regulate the trade.

Really, it should come as no surprise that government intervention may be imposed on a group that is rightly perceived as being unable or unwilling to govern itself.

I suspect that this is what Vichris meant when he alluded to laying in the bed that some have made for themselves.

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