Reasons why this bill is bad:



• This will prevent a time-honored tradition of “road cruising” for reptiles recalling Kaufield, Conant and Stebbins.

• Loss of income for West Texas business.

• Prevent citizens from participating in TPWD horned lizard study.

• Prevents hobbyists from pursuing their hobby.

• It will leave voids in people’s lives.

• People and their families have specifically moved to Texas to enjoy road cruising more.

• Interested land purchasers into road cruising may not buy land here. Effects new income for land sellers.

• Prevents businesses from accessing specimens.

• Professional herpetologists can’t collect from roads.

• DOR specimens can’t be picked up for museums.

• This would push people into hunting open country, which is more dangerous.

• Creation of black market with inflated prices.

• This bill would force people to concentrate on populations in the field which until now have remained virtually untouched.

• This bill would prevent people from picking up herps in the roadway that would get run over.

• We cannot afford to purchase land or pay for leases.

• Those of us that could afford to buy land would not be spending dollars in West Texas towns as before.

• This law would put us closer to the private property of others, including disturbing cattle and ranchers with our lights.

• This bill may prevent people from keeping herps because part of the enjoyment is the catching of the herps. This would be a blow against the captive “safety net” herp populations.

• This may force some people to hunt illegally.

• We have no other place to hunt.

• TWPD would lose hunting license revenue.

• Out-of-state people who have already purchased airline tickets would lose their money if this passes.

• Because the language of this bill is so “loose,” it will prevent birders and other wildlife watches from pursuing their roadside activities.

• A family will be unable to catch a lizard at a roadside picnic area.

• There are no open public areas to collect herps in West Texas besides roads and right-of-ways.

• It would be prevent the acquisition of certain species used in venom/medical research.





Mike Welker

El Paso, TX

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