Hi.

Here's a link to the letter Dr. Bryan Greg Fry refers to.

I found it quite useful and I assume it could be of even better use to you since it is directed to american authorities.

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=433836,436691



We hare av herp ban in norway also, exept in Norway all kinds of herps are banned. the ban in Norway was efectuated in 1977.



My guess is that petitions won't work too well..

The authorities aren't interested in extra paperwork unless they have to.

re-legalising herps is alot of paperwork I think.



You should read all the laws in question and memorise them.

If you can convince that the ban in unjustified and thet alot of people wish to have this ban liften maybe that will be the way to go..



You'd have to be very polite with your government and not imply that they don't know what they're talking about.



Since you have recieved a letter from your authorities maybe you should start your work based on that.



What does the law say?

Why did the City's board of health request this?



When you have gathered more info on the circumstances you should start the real work.

Go from the bottom and upwards. GEt support from close by enthusiasts and try to convince them to support you in changing the ban. It can be done. If something can be banned it can be un-banned, it just takes the right reasons anda good amount of work.

When you have united a groups of constrictor enthusiasts try to get opinions from other parties, such as the letter from Dr. B. G. Fry.

You copuld also contact herp societies close to you, get them on your side and ask them to give you statements that prove wrong the arguments and reasons that your government gives you.

When you have gained the support of close by herp societies go further up the chain.

International herp societies. There's something called NAROA, National amphibian and reptile owners alliance. I was offered assistance by Mr. Kevin Lorentz but I couldn't get in touch with him, if you're able to contact him please send him my greetings.

http://www.naroa.info/goals.htm

Next there's the ARAV, Association of reptile and amphibian veterinaries. If you know a vet that is a member of ARAV try contacting her/him, maybe that person can write you a statement that she/he can get the ARAV signature on.



Get copies of everything you send to people and put these into an arcive.

Letters to the government go by mail, letters recieved from the government should be arcivated along with the envelopes (so you can prove when they sent it).

Letters to other parties can go by fax or e-mail.



If you can convince a lawyer to do some pro-bono work for you for free grab that opportunity but try to contact the lawyer as little as possible so that she/he doesn't feel used or loose interest.

In brief try to do as much of the work yourself/along with the pople you recruit in your district.



Also talk and correspond with politicians.

Politicians views and oppinions change as often as teh wind changes direction but if you're able to make them put words on paper then you can quote them at a later point.

Find out which parties have wich views and talk to several politicians.



Finally, are people keeping constrictors in your regiona anyway?

What are the consequences of the ban? Has it achieved it's goal or has it led to the maltreatment of herps? Ca you go to a vet if you have a boa in your district?

Does the ban lead to smuggling?



If you can get statements that say that constrictors aren't as dangerous as the law thinks it wuld be good for you also.



Finally if you can't lift the whole ban try to lift it in part.

If you can convince your government to legalise a few (non dangerous" constrictors you can have another go at it at a later point.



Also contact the medias, they're a powerful tool. Just don't make the government look rediculous because it will make things harder for you and you'll have a harder time keeping a reasonable dialogue with your government.



Finally find precedents, examples of similar cases that have been solved to your liking.

Any herp bans that have been liften in the last decade or two should be favorable for you to mention to your authorities.



Don't expect this thing to happen over night even if you put up a good fight.



This is all I can come up at the moment.. Hope some of this helps in some way..



I think that lifting herp bans is all about teamwork.

On a global scale there's more and more restrictions beeing proposed. This is something I still know very little about but I think that this hobby is slowly starting to get organised.



You should build a homepage and try to update your progress on it. That will help you organise a movement to lift your ban and it will certainly be of use other people in the future.



We're working on lifting the herp ban in Norway but most of our work is in Norwegian. We're in the process of gathering statements n english from international organisations but we just started doing this and haven't gatheres much data yet.



If you like we could keep in touch so that we can share experiances and resources. I'm up to my head in work nowdays, I recently got caught for keeping geckoes in captivity but as soon as my case is over and I'm done with some of the follow up work I'l be glad to assist you in any way I can. My e-mail is obeligz@c2i.net



Regards

obeligz

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