You must be the only one who thinks we should do this! And this is exactly the problem with the reptile community at large - complacency



For my money TP&W is not worth the space they take up in the State of Texas. I say this because I have been harassed numerous times this season by the wardens - especially in Val Verde County. They hired a bunch of young kids to carry a gun and a badge, but they do not even know how to identify any of the snakes they are out there to "protect" except of course for the alterna. I have been stopped five times while walking a cut this season in Val Verde County. Every one of these guys was under 25 years old. And they all had plenty of "attitude". Like I was some kind of drug smuggler or something. Of course in Texas you can come here and slaughter as many animals as you can afford to carry home, but pick up a live snake and you are a nazi of some kind. Aside from the fact that these guys want to just stand around and talk and pump you for info, they aslo wanted me to walk the 1/2 to 1 mile back to my truck so they could search it. Really? I had the vest on. I was walking. I had every hunting license and stamp Texas offers for non game/reptiles. Where was "reasonable suspicion" or "probable cause" ? There was none. I was involved in a legal activity in complete compliance with every regulation ste forth by TP&W. They did not search my vehicle because I asked a simple question...."Am I under arrest or am I free to go"? They either had to place me into custody or leave me alone. Had they placed me into custody for the sole purpose of searching my truck and later let me go, they would have been facing a Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit and formal complaints to Austin. This is how we need to handle TP&W - not by kissing their collective arses ! I personally am fed up with the reptile community at large just bending over and taking whatever TP&W wants to give us.



"WHEN THE MEEK INHERIT THE EARTH - IT WON'T BE WORTH HAVING !!!

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