Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think its crazy.. but when you have idiots releasing burms and retics in the wild, we all have to pay. I hate the moronic pompus govt trying to tell me how to run my life. We better take this seriously, cause they will be comeing for all reptiles someday. Arrogant jerks like jack hannah who thinks he knows best what the general public should own or is capable of handling, makes me want to puke.. what if someone told him, what he is doing is too dangerous and he needs to start washing cars for a living...Arrghh!! There is a workshop coming we should all attend if we plan on staying in this hobby.
Mike
FWC rule change workshop

I live in Tampa and i read up on the different changes. They are proposing a free license. Heres my big question? There are not alot of FWC officers in Florida. Each one seems to cover large areas geographically. Keep in mind they already stop by all the pet stores that carry small animals to make sure they are caged properly. Is the state gonna hire more FWC officers? Where in Florida's budget are they gonna get the funds from? Is it gonna come from Homeland Security Funds that Florida received from the U.S. Government. Im sure the appropration committee in Florida wont do that! Raise property taxes, thats not gonna happen. They are way to high now anyways. Raise income tax, doubt any politician would go for that. They want to get reelected. So how is Florida gonna be able to enforce the laws they pass.

I agree that there are enough people who release pythons. Who in their right mind will just release one in the wild? It only takes two to tango, ya know! I do think its a good idea for the Id tags, but they will only use that to incriminate the person whos reptile they find.

Are they gonna go after Miami International Airport for their history of losing reptiles during shipment (i.e. the caiman's that made the waterways around the airport home).

realistically they can't inspect every single animal's home. The license will be similiar to that of a dog or cat's license. If they don't receive calls in regards to your treatment or housing of the snake, they don't bother you. Now if they do receive complaints they'll pay you a visit, it's no different than with the laws of the dogs, cats, horses, pigs, etc. The only difference I see is that our snakes are inside and not seen nearly as often by outsiders as our dogs would be. I also see the pet store owners having to turn in information regarding sales of their reptiles in connection with this law they're attempting to pass. I don't think obtaining a license for your reptiles is too unheard of, but some would think differently. Imagine though how much of headache they've had to go through with the burms being released in your state. Like someone else said, the right climate and any animal can thrive regardless of what it is. It just so happens to be a burmese python that's putting the monkey wrench into the plans right now, what's it going to be next year? Someone gonna release a monkey or two?

Izora, i totally agree with you. I have no problem with some restrictions, not necessarily banning pythons. There are some problems though. For those snake keepers who are not labeled "breeder" and who breed snakes, how will the state be able to regulate that. Its gonna be like firearms in Florida. I am a firearm instructor. If you go into a gun store you have to wait 3 days before you can get a firearm unless you have a concealed weapons permit. If you buy from a individual and not a gun store, no wait. So I am guessing they can only regulate the pet stores. I am assuming they will have a license fee at the store sort of how they do it with ferrets. But once a snake is sold, there will be no way to tell if he is licensed or not b/c Im sure they will grandfather people who already own the pythons. The sad thing is it sounds great on paper, but in reality Im not sure how effective its gonna be. For instance, lets say a python got loose. Person A owned that python at one time and even got it an id tag. Now person A sells the python to person B privately so there is no record kept. The state finds the python and contacts person A who says he sold it to person B named Bob. Even if the Person A was lying, its gonna be tough to prove it in the court of law. People in Florida, being pretty Republican state depending on what part you live in. People dont like government instrusion. Making permits for pythons from stores is one thing. Demanding it between private individuals is completely different. I am sure someone is gonna say they have the right to privacy and it will probably go to the Fl Supreme Court.

I am a responsible holder. I dont why people release these things in the wild. Hurricane Andrew was probably the biggest natural disaster that released many exotics in the wild unintentionally.

If they restrict the sale of pythons, that can cause a huge black market. The values of the snakes will go up because of supply and demand.

Keep in mind that non native species of animals have been introduced in Florida way before our time. Ferrel pigs, plants, and other animals ahve been causing havoc for a while now

>>I think its crazy.. but when you have idiots releasing burms and retics in the wild, we all have to pay. I hate the moronic pompus govt trying to tell me how to run my life. We better take this seriously, cause they will be comeing for all reptiles someday. Arrogant jerks like jack hannah who thinks he knows best what the general public should own or is capable of handling, makes me want to puke.. what if someone told him, what he is doing is too dangerous and he needs to start washing cars for a living...Arrghh!! There is a workshop coming we should all attend if we plan on staying in this hobby.
>>Mike
>>FWC rule change workshop

http://www.discover.com/issues/may-05/cover/

I dont agree that its okay for burms and retics to be loose in the wild, I say start a skin trade on wild one and take pressure off true native populations. In the meantime FL residents are now crying about gator populations, one of the ESA's proclaimed triumphs? Just to play devils advocate.. Does the burm fit a niche that now needs filling due to the invasive European subspecies which invaded North America and rearranged the everglades to suit themselves?
The real concern is that after a law is on the books, the general public looses the ability to prohibit additional change in the future or in some cases even to the final draft of the bill. License fees can increase, additional animals get added, and they dont have to tell you or make you aware. Its harder to get a law off the books then to keep from going on.
Ultimately AR(animal rights) groups do not want any human to own an animal. Reptiles and "exotic" animals are only stepping stone legislation.. Large constrictors can be justified to the public and used to promote the legislation. AR groups realize that if the deal with the easily propagandized "threat" (the danger of large constrictors to the general public) now; that in a few more years they can take out the ball pythons, captive corns, and so forth by simply lobbying to place them on the list. In the meantime they will push to make the permits so costly that a middle American can no longer afford own their pet retic.
I know some will laugh and say its outrageous, but AR groups have been quoted stating their ultimate hopes are "dogs natural and wild - free from human dependance". Their interest in using reptiles is very much sincere when viewed in light of achieving such statements.
-N-

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>>>>I think its crazy.. but when you have idiots releasing burms and retics in the wild, we all have to pay. I hate the moronic pompus govt trying to tell me how to run my life. We better take this seriously, cause they will be comeing for all reptiles someday. Arrogant jerks like jack hannah who thinks he knows best what the general public should own or is capable of handling, makes me want to puke.. what if someone told him, what he is doing is too dangerous and he needs to start washing cars for a living...Arrghh!! There is a workshop coming we should all attend if we plan on staying in this hobby.
>>>>Mike
>>>>FWC rule change workshop