I think it is important (not to beat a dead horse) to remind everyone that has not yet contacted their congressman AND the members of the committee on natural resources to do so IMMEDIATELY. These guys get a TON of messages each day, so it takes time to go through them--get your opinion in early! If you have already, and received no response....contact them again, and again if necessary. This bill must be defeated--I am already seeing the beginnings of what the consequence of the passing of this bill will be ( I work in a zoo, and we have already fielded more unwanted herp calls this month than the last two years combined--in part a result of this proposal, I am sure) All of the menyioned talking points are good, but unless I missed this one, include that demand for pets will invariably switch to native species previously ignored by the pet trade--which will likely cause a dramatic drop in native fauna populations as they are harvested for the pet trade until a good captive population is established. So, in a roundabout way, this bill will harm our native species more than help them. You just can't remove a large chunk of supply from an industry and expect demand to drop with it. The demand will be met--one way or another.

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