Posted by:
PHFaust
at Sat Dec 19 01:34:58 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by PHFaust ]
Just wanted to share a few impassioned letters that a few breeders shared with me in their fight for S373. Some have mentioned the bigger people are quiet on the forums, but in reality I think that's because they are working their behind off behind the scenes.
Please feel free to add your letters here to help inspire others as they write theirs!
Rich Crowley - Short Tail Python Breeder.
Ugly Politics and Animal Rights Extremists picking on the small business
In today’s economy where small businesses are being pressed by all sorts of challenges in staying in business, why is Congress looking to put many out of business....and soon?
At the heart of this debate is our government acquiescing to the will of well funded lobbyists exerting their muscles for a well funded extremist animal rights group. Most US citizens enjoy pets of all sorts and they often pull at our hearts strings in a way unmatched by other passions. These pets come in all shapes, sizes, and species. For some no other reason than because they can, the radical group HSUS is targeting the roughly 4 million pet snake owners rather than focusing their efforts on the puppy mills and dog fighting rings. Why? Partly bad science, and part because they can. Let’s face it, pet reptiles are not as glitzy as a Dalmatian or a cut puppy Labrador, but many of the reptiles in captivity endear themselves to their owners in other ways. After all what is a pet? It isn't the type of animal, but the focus of attention by the owner of the animal even if it is a pet frog or goldfish.
Currently, there is legislation moving around at the Capital to ban ownership of pythons and boas. Yes there are big pythons in the world and some in captivity. However, most pythons and boas are actually small and harmless. They come in all sorts of colors and patterns, often designed through decades of captive breeding. Sound familiar? It is not much different than the selective breeding for pet dogs and cats. Unlike dogs and cats, most reptiles are largely hypo-allergenic. They have no fur and shed their skin in one piece so no tufts of fur on the floor in your house creating dander. They don't bark and contrary to popular belief, they don't eat people. In fact, even with advances in captive husbandry, most snakes eat every few weeks and often fast for periods of time when temperatures drop. Also contrary to popular belief, they don't need to eat live food; in fact, studies show they enjoy a good "snake TV dinner" better than the real, live thing.
Back to the legislative, witch hunt in the Capital. The whole issue stems over the estimated hundreds of thousands of loose tropical snakes in Florida. This is based on no serious scientific facts, just public pot stirring to draw attention to the extremist, animal rights groups trying to keep their lobbyists busy. Yet when professional collectors tried to collect them over a six month period, they only found a couple dozen. Considering the recent environmental catastrophes, these were likely pets who escaped during past hurricanes. Far more escapee species exist in Florida than anywhere else including monkeys, feral pigs, non-native birds including parrots and countless other innocuous invasive species of plants and other fauna. Keep in mind that we are speaking about tropical snakes and the last time we checked, most of North America is not tropical. Just ask the Orange farmers in Florida right now battling ice on their groves.
So why care about these odd animal lovers? Because they are your dentists, accountants, mechanics, school teachers, etc. And worse yet, many of them are relying on the extra income to help support themselves during these hard times. It will get worse when this legislation passes and the $3-$4 billion dollar industry will evaporate overnight and result in a release of hundreds of thousands of now illicit pets. Some responsible owners who have strong ties to their pets will refuse to give in and be forced to go underground hiding their contraband family pet. This type of scene will parallel the actions taken to ban alcohol during prohibition. Now is not the time to create this type of situation. Let your voice be heard.
Kevin McCurley - New England Reptile Distributers, Inc & Zoo Creatures LLC
Remember, you say fair and BALANCED.
Hello Fox News,
I have a strange topic , I will (try) to keep it short to see if this is of interest.
There are many people in the United States and that enjoy keeping reptiles and amphibians as pets and for education. Many of these species are incredibly rare and face uncertain futures in their respective wild habitats. In captivity they are being bred and preserved by many amazing keepers. Since reptiles are often regarded as odd or even creepy, they can make easy targets for the media and people with prejudice for such animals.
At present, the Reptile Industry is under attack by the U. S. Government. Our politicians are seeking to BAN many of these pets based on Invasive Species concerns. Their argument is based on the presence of a non-native snake species living in the Florida Everglades. There is no evidence that exotic python or boa species could live in the wild anywhere else in the continental U.S.. The remarkable strategy that our Government is using is based on a U. S. Geological report. This report speculates potential temperatures changes due to global warming over the next 100 years within the United States. Based on this speculation, they are projecting the possibilities that some tropical species may be able to survive in some other parts of the U. S., not just Southern Florida. This single notion has been bandied about as fact, and these reptile species are now being deemed injurious invasive species.
Our Government seems to disregard factual evidence concerning the reality that these tropical species will not be able to sustain themselves when released in a foreign temperate environment. Instead, law-makers are rapidly moving to ban commonly kept pet python and boa species. Their basis for this concern seems to stem from the Humane Society of the United States, which openly admits that they plan to stop ownership of pets in this country. The Humane Society has directed money into this program, they have found politicians to run with it in a campaign of fear, fiction and nonsense. At present our entire industry (which is significant) will be destroyed if they are able to pass these laws (such as the S. 373 which just passed committee). If ultimately passed, many pet snakes would become illegal to own. To further complicate matters it would be a Federal Lacey Act Violation to cross a state border with one of the invasive injurious species. Many of these species are commonly sold at your local pet store!
My point is, we have no voice, we are unable to speak facts, the media destroys logic and runs on hype. The Government may actually ban and destroy many aspects of the pet and reptile industry without the use of facts They continue to ignore facts such as tropical species DIE (over time) when exposed to the temperatures of the United States. They are using the single fact that Burmese Pythons have been able to live in Florida's Everglades (this fact is also riddled with ignorance, embellished numbers, emotion and lacks hard factual evidence). They ignore intelligence and seem to rely on generating hype and fear to make these pet species scary! Countless thousands of people will instantly lose their "rights" and lively hood if these laws are passed. Man is obviously the most significant and Invasive species wreaking havoc to our environment. Some politicians need a common enemy to distract the public sector; disregard the draining, development and abuse of the Everglades by man and make incredible FALSE claims about an invasive species that is living in limited numbers there.
We need to tell our story, we need help to voice reality and separate fact from fiction. I am a published Author, an internationally known Reptile Breeder with a long list of reptile accomplishments. I also spend a great deal of time and energy on education and have worked with people such as Steve Irwin, Jeff Corwin, Brady Barr, Terry and Bindy Irwin. Our animals have appeared on Conan O'Brien, Tony Danza, Fox and Friends, Regius And Kathy Lee, Animal Planet and Good Morning America to name a few. We supply many of the reptiles that various personalities use on TV when visiting areas such as New York City.
I can provide a great deal of information regarding our plight and I would bet it would make for a very colorful and interesting story for your show! It is rather amazing considering our present economy and the struggle that many Americans are facing that law makers would want to further increase distress for thousands of Americans. The Reptile and Pet Industry are multi million dollar businesses, they both help power the economy. Collectively, they spend a significant amount of money that is NEEDED in this exhausted economy. My two business employ 16 people, I spend a great deal of money on supplies, shipping, advertising, taxes and power my town's, the local, the American and the International economy! If unable to keep or sell these commonly kept species I will go out of business, I will no longer employ these people and I will no longer add to the economy. My two businesses represent a fraction of the Reptile& Pet Industry, if we are shut down by the Government it will fall hard on the economy and employment. All this will happen because of "hype" and "fear mongering", I sit here shocked to think that our Government can act in such an arrogant and unjust manner. To move forward and waste taxpayers money on such matters, to attempt to pass laws based on "make believe" is beyond the scope of logic.
I am asking for an opportunity to challenge our Governments failure to use facts, one that attempts to pass laws based on flawed and unfounded truths. A chance to protect a very simple and basic American pleasure, the right to keep pets!
I greatly appreciate your time and any attention that you can give this matter!
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Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
Email Cindy
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 A few letters from bigger boys - PHFaust, Sat Dec 19 01:34:58 2009
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