Posted by:
BigBrother
at Fri Feb 27 17:24:06 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by BigBrother ]
Tim,
This sounds good on the surface, but remember, baby snakes grow. What do you do with snakes you can’t give away or sell? (the problem out in Calif.) Where do you set the “baby” line? i.e. a 6” garter is a whole lot different than a 6” bull snake. In other words, you have to think about how the law will be practically enforced. An unenforceable law is just as useless as biologically stupid law, and there is always some give and take.
Second point involves your examples of people who breed fish and birds. In most states you are not allowed to breed native fish without a license, and pretty much all birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (i.e. at the Federal not the State level), so it is illegal to even possess native birds or the parts there of (i.e. a single feather) without a special permit or a hunting license for game species, and you really cannot bred them with the exception of falconers and game farmers who must have special permits. My point is this, you can breed almost any exotic herps you want as long as you can obtain the breeding stock legally without Gov’t interference (a few species that are deemed dangerous or harmful to the environment are excludes, but these are generally local laws), and the same applies to exotic fish and birds. With herps, there are many states where you can breed natives, and there are a few states where you can breed native fish, but there are no states where you can breed native birds without a special permit. In other words, herpers actually have fewer restrictions than bird and fish people do, so these are not good examples to use for your argument, and insects are pretty much ignored by everyone.
I hope this kinda makes you feel a little less picked on by the Gov’t!
Big Brother
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