Hey Ben,



I managed to sit through the hour long chat regarding the Boa, Python and Anaconda potential law and thought it was a complete waist. A fantastic opportunity was missed to ask relevant and pertinent questions of a Fish & Wildlife Service representative who is directly involved with their information gathering. In my opinion only a couple of useful questions were asked throughout the entire chat. Instead it came across as disorganized finger pointing [bleep] session. It seemed as though the invited panelists didn’t have a clue how to proceed or what really needed to be discussed. In my opinion it was not their fault but the time would have been better served if the meeting was run by a Facilitator instead of a Moderator. I only hope that if USGS agrees to a similar meeting that it will be much better organized.



Truth is that this industry needs a Trade Organization along the lines of the American Cattleman’s Association www.beef.org, National Pork Producers Council www.nppc.org or any of the other professional agricultural associations. We need a place where our national sales and production numbers can be gathered and disseminated in a professional, recognizable and documented way. That is about the only way that any government agency or animals rights group will take us seriously. Otherwise we come across as a disorganized group of very passionate hobbyists. Perhaps this is a role for PIJAC or perhaps not?



Sorry for the rant but it just my .02 cents.



Rico Walder
Signal Herpetoculture

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