At this point we have come from the brink of disaster ( banning all pythons and BC)to a place we still don't agree with, but with alot less consequences than the initial bill. Obviously with one Senator voting "No" and the bill being amended to include basicaly 5 large species, we have made progress.

Obviously someone has heard the reptile nation and hopefuly some of our letters have been read and we must continue to hope some of these people in Congress take time to hear our side, to hear who we are and what we do. For the most part,congress does not know what our real issues are, or who we are as responsible reptile keepers and reptile lovers.They only know 2 things in their minds : there is an invasive problem and they believe there is a public safety problem. But somewhere along the line, some of these folks will be more open minded than others , so I believe we need to continue writting letters and explain more about what we do and why.We need to explain to these people in Congress who we are - and that is, that we are a cross section of society and we are hard working and responsible reptile keepers with a passion for our hobby and work.

But if we want them to understand us, we must also show them we understand their concerns and issues( Invasive problem and public safety).

Here's my 2 cents worth of suggestion, even though I know some won't like this idea......

I think we should try to negotiate an agreement for an ammended bill that gives them enough so that they feel they've "done something" about their issues, yet allows all snake keepers and breeders-small and large- to continue what we've always been doing without any attacks on our freedom to breed, sell and keep reptiles responsibly. What I would suggest is to agree to ban only the import of the biggest 4 species ( Annacondas, Retics, Burms,Rocks)but allow the rest of us to keep , breed , transport and sell those animals already in our country. This may not go over well with everyone,but it is ALOT better than the possible outcome in Congress.

Their issues : # 1) Invasive species: I'm sure a very high number of those animals that have invaded south Florida are from cheap imports.I was an importer myself for years and some of these cheap animals like baby Retics can be had for $ 10-20.

And very often the person buying these animals are people with a fleeting interest in reptiles,not someone with knowledge and passion for the hobby. The keeper loses interest, snake gets too big for it's cage or costs too much to feed or the keeper is tired of cleaning the cage and that $ 10 Retic is out the door !

Snakes like Retics are not for first time keepers. They are for those who have gained knowledge and have gained experience over the years with smaller species and graduated to Retics.These are the people keeping more expensive animals, often beautiful morphs.

The guy/gal with an albino tiger Retic is certainly not letting it loose somewhere in Florida..... rather it's the guy with a $ 25 Retic he bought as a first snake and got tired of it.Imports.

I doubt that there are many U.S. captive bred animals released into the wild.It is basicaly the cheap imports.

Public safety : Again, the guy with a US Captive bred large constrictor, who paid $ 500-$ 2000 for the specific morph is most likely to be a responsible reptile keeper that has educated himself/herself of many years and has gained a wealth of experience keeping snakes prior to buying a large constrictor.

These are not the people being killed by their snakes, nor are their children. These are mostly responsible owners/keepers.

BUT almost every time someone is killed by a constictor ( and it happened 5 minutes from my house !), it is an inexperienced keeper who has very little knowledge of these snakes and it is almost ALWAYS a cheap snake. Very Very often these are snakes that were imported cheaply as babies and are offered for sale very cheap by petshops and unethical dealers.They are so affordable, it's rediculous..anyone..any moron with no experience can buy a baby Burm or baby Retic without spending much money....so when they snake outgrows the tank, either it is released or it is no longer housed properly ( a good secure cage can cost 10 times what the cheap import cost), leading to a public safety issue.

Yes, a big part of the problem we are facing with congress is basic ignorance and fears towards snakes.We need to educate those who are open minded enough to read parts of some letters, and let them know who we are and what we do and why ! But we also need to intelligently address their concerns.If we want them to understand us , we need to show them we understand them.

I think the best we can expect, considering the nature of the invasive issue and public safety concerns,is what we should offer as a compromise : Ban the import of the Big 4 but allow the rest of us to continue working with, breeding, and selling

our snakes regardless of size or species.

No, I dont like the idea of banning all imports of even the Big 4 , BUT it is the imports that are the most responsible for the bad press we've gotten from released animals and animals killing people.Banning just the import of the Big 4 would go a long way to solving those issues.

And for the most part, it would not affect most hobbyists nor reptile businesses small , medium or large. There are only a handful of importers that might be affected my a compromise ban of just the imports , and even those importers would not be hit hard as Retics,Burms, Rocks and Condas and only a small piece of their pie !

Negotiate, compromise. I would gladly offer to ban the import of the Big 4 in exchange for the rest of us being able to continue what we do without any restictions from the government.

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