I don't think any endangered species have been found in the gut contents of any of the other 8 out of the big 9. And only a very small number of actual specimens of endangered species have been actually been found in Burmese. I think it's actually less than 5 individuals of 2 endangered species. From this they have extrapolated the dangers. Certainly no endangered species have been found in the gut contents of the Burmese pythons established in Minnesota because there are no Burmese established there. Yet the law seeks to 'protect' the endangered species in Minnesota from a Burmese problem that in all likelihood will never occur.

I am not anti regulation. I would feel extreme regret were we to do nothing about the pythons in the everglades and an extinction of an endangered species resulted. Something should be done.

What I am agianst is unfair, knee-jerk reactions to a problem that I think has been exaggerated or at best, inaccurately assesed. So my point is not that thayeri, ruthven's or hybrids might present a real problem.

My point is that if we allow the opportunistic politicians or predjudiced special intrests like PETA to push exaggerated, unfair or unsupported regulations on one segment of the hobby, they could eventually be pushed on the rest of the hobby.

I don't keep any of the big 9. All I keep are kings, milks and Trans-Pecos ratsnakes.

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