You are correct in saying that you would still be able to purchase and sell the 9 species in your state IF the proposal were to go through. However, whether you realize it or not, this matter affects all of us who keep and breed pythons and boas. A couple questions for you to think about here are, what is the liklihood of that specific pet snake you want to own or breed was originally purchashed/acquired by whchever breeder you went to from another state? What if you had to relocate to another state?

Even if you do not own any of the 9 species, do not believe for one moment that this will never affect you. Do you remember HR669, the Nonnative Wildlife Prevention Act? That bill would have made the import and interstate commerce and transport of virtually EVERY non native species a felony. Do not think for one moment that the momentum or backers of that legislation have simply given up and gone away after HR 669's derailment. They simply realized that going after all species at once was much too difficult for them, and are utilizing a different approach towards the same goal, essentially taking away once slice at a time. In this case, the 9 species is that once slice.

Yes, it does seem like a difficult, never ending battle, but as other posters on here have stated and even reminded me of, we must remain vigilant and continue to fight. Burning out and quitting is exactly what our enemies at the HSUS want us to do, which would therefore make it much easier for them to pass their entire agenda of ending the keeping of ALL non native species without opposition or any interferences.

It is my belief though that we must participate as much as possible in every battle that affects us. If we do not, the victories acheived by the antis through those battles that we chose to ignore will only provide them with more confidence and momentum against us in subsequent battles. I am sure most of everyone realizes that the AR groups frequently justify passing bans in one state by citing the passage of similar legislation in other states. My last point is, USARK and PIJAC are much larger than just yourself or a couple of people. It is my belief that PIJAC and USARK cannot throw some of their membership base under the bus for the sake of "picking and choosing battles". While some battles are certainly more pressing or time sensitive than others, all of these battles do affect all of us in some way, whether directly or indirectly. You are certainly welcome to participate and contribute as much time and efforts as you like/ or are able to, but we all must stay in the fight.

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