All,

There are points to both arguments. I usually vote for the party that is more conservation/environmentally oriented but now that the “agenda” has been identified I lean more towards the middle. There is no party of the middle. There are other issues, policies and platforms that are important like healthcare and the war. There are other conservation related issues that should be important to us: Stopping habitat destruction, birth control, and getting big business out of Washington. But for now both parties will require us to “play the game” if we want to keep our rights and privileges.

One of the big reasons we need to worry, which ever party is in power, is that we don't have a group working to protect our rights and privileges. No matter who is in power and who is in control we will not have a voice, that will be heard, without a large, all inclusive national herper’s rights group. PIJAC is too big and too diverse. HCU is too small and doesn’t support the entire industry. And USARK has yet to post their position statements.

We need a group that can organize a grassroots effort. We need a group that can afford to hire lobbyists and lawyers. We need a group that will answer the negative PR blitz by academics and animal rights groups. We need a group that will review the scientific literature and identify the agenda. We need a group that will conduct or fund unbiased scientific research or force those that do research to be unbiased. We need a group that will force those in power (academics, agency biologists and their superiors) to break up their monopoly, their conflict of interest, and their power loop and level the playing field. We need a group that will fight for our right to possess all herps. We need a group that will fight for our right to access new blood, new localities and new morphs. We need a group that will fight for our ability to conduct our businesses and hobbies. We need a group that will fight for captive propagation. We need a group that will help us earn the respect we have yet to find.

So bottom line, either way, we still need to organize and fight which ever party is in power.

Welkerii
El Paso, TX

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