So here it is with the date of April 23rd looming on what could be one of the drakest days in the hobby. If passed the ramifications would affect us all and this is a threat not to be underestimated. My personal thought on this bill is that the idea of it and even the name has the right idea. It will be put in place to stop what has happened in florida with their numerous alein species, Guam with the brown tree snakes and Australia with the caine toad. However I persoanlly believe that a similar act to our wildlife and countryside act of 1981. It is not just the herp community at risk, the aquarium trade, the bird trade, the exotic mammal trade. This is a snippet from www.govit.com " To prevent the introduction and establishment of nonnative wildlife species that negatively impact the economy, environment, or other animal species' or human health, and for other purposes ". So to pass a bill that will stop negative impacts on the communtiy by killing of small town petshops, bankrupting breeders, etc. This is surley a large self contradiction in aims ?. Also according to http://www.wnyherp.org/resources/leg...es/HSUSBan.php the report which started this bill includes findings which include: " The bacteria, shed in the feces, can contaminate the animal's skin, enclosure, and virtually any surface with which it comes into contact " but I am pretty sure that all feces does this?. " Over-collection: Often the number of animals collected from the wild exceeds the species' or stock's reproductive capabilities " So why stop all captive breeding and most overseas conservation projects?. " Humane Concerns Reptiles are among the most inhumanely treated animals in the pet trade. Because they are cheap and easily replaceable, dealers, captive breeders, and retailers factor huge mortality into their operating costs " I personally think that fish are the worst treated pet in the pet trade and that reptiles as awhole range in price. Some animals such as anoles do sadly fall in to this category and most people paying for the reptiles do care for them but it is becoming a classic case of the minority ruining it for the majority. "
Adding to the problem, says Telecky, are misleading claims by the pet industry to the public about the appropriateness of reptiles as pets, falsely marketing reptiles as easier to care for than dogs or cats " personally never heard this claim or seen them advertised under this appropriatness. " There have been many near-fatal and several fatal incidents in recent years involving constrictors. In August, an eight-year-old Pennsylvania girl, Amber Mountain, was killed by the family's pet Burmese python " No claim is made towards the parent who decided to keep a large python in the house unsecrley and left a young girl unsupervised with the animal. " The Humane Society of the United States urges federal and state regulatory agencies to put an end to the reptile trade for the sake of public health, the safety of the nation's livestock and wildlife, and because of growing conservation concerns ". Do cats not kill alot of native small animals, birds and reptiles yet they are not a conservation concern.

Personally what I would like to see is some sort of fine system for the those who release there animals in to the wild and a legal manditory warning when selling large snakes, monitors and iguanas.

The reality is that 82% of captive breeding occurs in the united states (cannot find the source again sorry). With this bill not just our hobby and the many others will be destroyed. so WAKE UP .. do something this is real and we have 9 days to save our hobby, save our lifestyle, save the right to keep herps. Do what you can or live with the consequences.

Thoughts . . .

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• HR 669 - leeneedsaname, Tue Apr 14 10:26:31 2009