A quick word here. I agree that it is all how you set your standards, but it is also about setting your limits. I'm a zookeeper at an AZA institution and I personally work with not only our herp collection; but with medium sized felids, small primates as well as ursids. I can personally attest that to meet AZA standards (which many could consider minimal) for large carnivores you would need extensive resources (both personally and financially) that I will go ahead and say 99.999% of individuals who purchase large carnivores (ie felids, ursids, wild canids, hyenas, etc.) simply do not have. We have had tigers in the past. They cost 50 bucks a day to feed each. That is why we no longer have them, they were not drawing a crowd to make it worth it. I will not say no one should have large carnivores, but I will say 99.999% of people who buy them should have bought something else. To compare pythons with large carnivores or primates (an issue that I feel falls in the same category as large carnivores) is somewhat of a stretch in that a lot more individuals are capable of properly housing and caring for a python than a tiger or a chimp. I have seen the darker side of our industry--people who bought things they simply could not care for and try to dump on our zoo (usually in piss poor shape I might add)--this is what we need to change to get the AR idiots off our backs. As an industry we nned to set standards for care of our exotic species and make sure that information ( our good, standardized info that is) is made available to the general public via the internet, swap meets, trade shows, even (perhaps especially) large chain pet shops (to replace the crappy care sheets they distribute to people). This is a category that a growing organization like USARK could lead the charge on. If we show we know what we are doing and actively encourage smart pet ownership while simultaneously discouraging poor pet decisions we will gain a ton of credibility. Right now many folks simply view us as a bunch of weirdos who like to play with snakes. We need to change that--we need to be viewed as smart, conservation minded individuals who have not only animal welfare, but huiman welfare at the core of what we do. By setting standards we can deflect knee jerk legislation when someone doesn't do what they should--and another thing we should do as an industry-set up a series of herp animal shelters to take in all these unwanted animals--this will help curb wild release. HSUS and the ASPCA do not generally accept herps into their shelters because they are not capable of caring for them nor do they believe people should have herps in the first place--they are part of the problem in my opinion for not being more helpful in this department. These are things we must do to survive. Not compromise legislation, not debating domesticity--but educating and providing an outlet for those who get in over their heads so they do not inadvertantly destroy our hobby. We need to put our heads together, go species by species and set up minimum guidelines for acceptable husbandry--I realize the scope of such an endeavor, but I think that as a community we could do it, and this site, along with USARK's; would be good places to start with as far as making this database accessible. There is my two cents, take it for what it is worth.

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