I completely agree that what the guy did was wrong. I personally think he should sit in jail for a bit to think about what an idiot he is and he should have to pay some sort of fine. But as far as taking his permits and confiscating his private property?????? HE!! NO !!!!!! Think about this for a minute(and ignore his stupid stunt for a minute as well.) think about the reptiles you own which are YOUR personal property. That you bought legally with money that YOU earned that you have kept responsibly. Now imagine that the govt, the only entoty legally empowered to use deadly force to accomplish it's goals decides YOU must pay THEM a hundred dollars a year to be able to keep YOUR personal private property. Not only that but you also have to give up your fourth amendment right to unreasonable search and seizure and allow the state to come into YOUR private residence so they can make sure like your cages are up to their standard. All because a bunch of snakes got loose in the everglades from some wholesaler because they didn't do a good job of policing them in the first place when they knew there were problems on that end of things.
Don't get me wrong like I said this guy should be punished....the more I think about it he should be horse whipped and put in stocks for a week with a big sign telling everyone what an idiot he is. But to take away his personal property????over "wildlife violations" what is that exactly? Did you know that if you pick up a starfish of a beach here in Fl. and you don't have a fishing license the fwc will fine you $93? Does that count? (article in Fl. Today about that during the cold spell. fyi) Did you know that if you help a gopher tortoise across the road and fwc catches you they can give you a ticket? Does that count? I once heard Kevin Enge mention at a talk for the CFHS that technically it is a crime to rerelease a brown anole after you pick it up because it is non-native wildlife and releasing it is a crime. Would they give you a ticket for it? probably not but who knows? would that count towards this?
When you think about it it's no surprise the estimate a 90% non-compliance rate with their roc rules (fwc's figure not mine.).
Private property is one of the cornerstones of a free society. Go ahead cheer on that he got busted for what he did he should have got more punishment for it. Heck if you meet him on the street beat the crack out him if you want, but don't hope for the gov. to take his private property away. It's sick and it's un-american.

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]