Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just got back. Anyone not sure if it would be worth it after last month's fiasco should just go. Some out of state dealers missing, but still a good show. Some nice Texas Rats from Peter Rushton at PT Reptiles. Also saw some really good looking Bairds that I would have bought if I hadn't already spent my money on rodents. Plenty of nice corns in the $15-$30 range. So...if you were wondering if it's worth the price of admission...I say YES! Showing our support is how we can keep a great show going. Have fun..... Duffy

The coolest new trend....everyone should own one to let the world know the streets are safe. I mean I'm all for protecting out native animals but you can take it too far. Leucistics & Licorice Sticks??? I mean come on....? Meanwhile, the politicians who make these laws are developing their natural habitat all in the name of the almighty dollar!!! Kudos....good work fellas

...Yeah, many of the regs that folks got busted on are stupid and ill-placed. Unfortunately we're going to have to try to abide by them unless/until they are changed if we want the show to continue. I also think that a very small minority of people who have historically attended the show and broken the basic, common-sense rules managed to bring the feds into the game by their carelessness. Just my opinion. I'm glad the Ohio show continues. Duffy

None of us are perfect & we all make mistakes but why have undercovers agents for three years & never (that I can recall) have uniformed officers present to answer questions or point out problems. The ten year (& that is a quote) investigation was a federal one (coast to coast) and not a request of ODNR. This is going to be an ongoing effort to shut the "industry" down - probably due to political pressure from PETA & the Humane Society. This will not stop in Ohio - this will eventually affect everyone in every state. They will come for you. It has been proven time & again that they will find some way to make it illegal to try to propagate animals in captivity. There is a nationwide movement to PIT Tag every captive native animal (snake or turtle). Most states seem to have the sense to make mutations exempt due to the fact that they will most likely not make it in the wild. I'm pretty freaked out about gouging my 18" Blk Ratsnakes w/ a syringe of that size. Oh well...I guess we will all just roll over & take it....

The end result might be that dealers quit dealing in native species. Just not worth the hassle...like the fine dealers from out of state who didn't show up because of all the out of state crap. And I do NOT think that's a good thing. Black rats are one of my personal favorites, and I don't want to tag any of my snakes. For a small collector...it will probably be OK...but it will make them harder to come by when the breeders decide it's just not cost effective to mess with them anymore. I suppose that's what they want, but by taking away the captive breeding sources they will accomplish just the opposite of their alleged intent...It will actually put the pressure back ON the wild animals if legitimate dealers don't want to mess with them any more. Clearly they have not thought this thing through. Duffy