Good to see you thinking outside the box, Chris. Also good to see you willing to do what's best for the industry.



I don't have any other comments besides this one. For a non-native SNAKE species to become established across an area the size of the ENP (1.5 million acres), in the numbers that are estimated, it would require a MASS introduction. A simple pet here and there would not be sufficient to achieve those numbers in an area that large. Especially given the mortality rate of the young being estimated at 95-98%.



The refusal of some folks to accept that an occasional pet introduction is NOT the cause of the substantial numbers of Burms in the Everglades just blows my mind.



What really blows my mind is that Sen Nelson is convinced that released pets are the cause of the problem, yet there's no single documented case of any person EVER releasing a burm into the ENP. Why? Well, it's already illegal to release any non-native wildlife into the Everglades and, it's a HECK of a drive for the average person. If they don't care enough to care for their animal, they're not going to drive from Missouri to the ENP, or from NY to the ENP, or even from Orlando, FL to the ENP. They're going to drop it off at a shelter, or an exotic pet store where they bought it! Or just release it at the local park or in the woods.



Final point, Sen Nelson has stated that he believes there are 100,000 Burms in the ENP. To date, even with the volunteer efforts of half a dozen herp guys, they've only found 347 this year. Removing these animals by traditional methods just isn't going to be the solution. They're probably there to stay, sadly.



Well... I thought I only had one comment... lol



Again Chris, I applaud your dedication to working with people to find a solution to this problem. I think that if the US government would ask the herp community to work with them to find a solution to the presence of Burms in the ENP, rather than attacking us, bankrupting us, and threatening to turn us all into felons, they'd find a very receptive audience and group of volunteers.



jb
-----
What's written above is purely my opinion. In fact, MOST of what you read on the internet is someone's opinion. Don't take it too seriously



Jonathan Brady

DeviantConstrictors.com

Deviant Constrictors picturetrail

[ Show Entire Thread ]