I realize that at the present most of us have our attention focused on HB 2214 and how we can kill it. And it well needs to be killed. But we also need to be thinking beyond this bill. If we are indeed successful in defeating it during this session, you can bet that they will he back will a similar or even worse bill during the next legislative session (2 years from now). They may not even wait that long, they could possibly accomplish the same thing by convincing the TP&W Board of Commissioners to pass an administrative rule. Such rules have the same effect and weight as a law passed by the legislature. So if we are successful in defeating HB 2414, that will not mean that we have won the war….only a battle… and there will be more battles ahead.
This type of stuff is becoming common all across this country and most of it is being pushed by our good friends at the HSUS, PETA, API and other special interest groups. These organizations have a lot of money backing them and they are being successful in selling their so-called product to city, county and state officials who have no real understanding of what they are really about. Have any of you guys checked into the local city ordinances in the communities where you live recently? If not I suggest that you do so and that you do so on a regular basis. After being out of Texas for almost six years, we recently decided to try to sell out up here in Wyoming and return to Texas for a number of reasons and the quality herping opportunities that exist in Texas was one of the reasons. We began keeping an eye open for real estate in 7 or 8 different communities that we thought we might like to call home when we return to the state. I also began looking into the animal control ordinances in those communities and was surprised….no shocked is a better word. Basically my snakes would be unwelcome and illegal in almost every community that we had been considering moving to. Most all had animal ordinances amended or updated during the past five years which basically outlaw all wild animals including ALL reptiles. The fact that many of these ordinances were either one of two different styles leads me to believe that the HSUS, PETA and API have been actively peddling their goods to our elected officials in Texas….at least in central Texas. In Burnet, it is illegal to keep any un-domesticated animal including ALL reptiles. If you are a tropical fish keeper you are only allowed to keep a maximum of three (3) aquariums and the total gallons capacity for those three tanks may not exceed a total of 90 gallons. In New Braunfels and San Marcos it is illegal to keep any wild animal including all reptiles. Another that I found did permit the keeping of “small, harmless reptiles” but prohibited the keeping of more than 3 of any species. And I found several that were ludicrous at best. One prohibited the keeping of “any non-domesticated warm-blooded animals including reptiles”. Obviously the author of that one flunked 7th grade science. And then there was another that prohibited the keeping of “any carnivorous snake”….Hmm, what other kind of snake is there? And the list continues to grow as we continue to search for a community that e would like to call home and that will allow our animals as well.
If our opposition to HB 2414 is successful, we don’t want to just celebrate our victory and get back to life and herping like normal because we are going to be facing these same battles again and again in the future. We need to begin taking the offensive in these issues instead of always being on the defensive about them. There are no doubt a good number of individuals in the state of Texas who are engaged in some type of herp activity, but unfortunately they are not a solid cohesive group but rather various groups with there own individual interests. If our kids and grandkids are going to be able to keep a lizard or a snake or drive down a country road at night looking for snakes we are going to have to come together as one strong body to ensure that they have those rights.
What I think we need is the creation of what you might call a “Super Herp Society” …perhaps something along the lines of the “Combined herpetological Societies of Texas’ for example…whose sole mission is to monitor proposed legislation and city ordinances in the state and actively work to defeat those that are detrimental to our interests and support those that we can. Each herp society in the state could become affiliated with this larger group and pay some type of organizational dues to help support it and the individual members of all these herp societies could automatically become a member of the larger organization with a portion of their local dues going to support the larger organization. The group should also include the academic herpetologists, zoo personnel, commercial breeders and dealers, hobbyists, and as bad as I hate to say it, perhaps even the rattlesnake roundup organizations. I don’t think that ‘herping’ can survive if we continue to be divided and split. We need an organization that will represent our collective needs and be the political arm for all of our local and regional herp societies across the state. It is something that deserves some serious consideration before it is too late.
Please excuse my long and rambling post…just thinking out loud here as I ponder what the future of herping in Texas will be. For now I need to get back to the task at hand with HB 2414 and also continue our search for a new community to call home in central Texas.
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Gerald Keown
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research
www.southwesternherp.com
