Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Texas herpers must unite and form a coalition. TPWD has to come to recognize that this overbearing and Draconian law is unenforceable. Maybe that realization has to come from the courts as tickets are tossed out (as carefully orchestrated ruses are played out on Game Wardens or whether a centralized legal team defends against ALL tickets-say the TRECLU-Texas Reptile Enthusiasts Civil Liberties Union-whatever- lol), or perhaps even a legal challenge. Has the legislature exceeded their authority? What is the legislative branch doing limiting hunting in Texas – isn’t that the role of the Commission? I don’t have any idea-I’m from AZ.

All I can say is that I hope you guys aren't going to take this crap lying down. I know! Perhaps some MOTIVATION is in order. Here’s a fiery quote from one of my Texas herping buddies, “I can tell you this, no matter what is passed down the pike, they will have to shoot me dead before I give up road collecting or collecting on the side of the road. They can KISS MY ASS!!!! “

No doubt that last part is how all the members of the Boston Tea Party felt!

R

As friends in law enforcemnt have pointed out, law enforcment personnel can write tickets faster than we canf ight them. And it costs them nothing but time to write them.
I am in no way a political or legal strategist so I'll leave it to minds which work in that direction to come up with a game plan. However, should a viable plan arise, I wonder just how many herpers will actually help out fully. I think back to the days of NRAAC and its attempts to fight the newly created non-game department - 6-8 people did 99% of the work and contributed 90% of the money while most were content to sit back and write posts on kingsnake.com or nraac.com about how terrible it was and how they would do whatever was necessary. I remember a meeting set up at an Arlington expo by James and Bonnie with TPWD there to listen to comments. Perhaps 15-20 herpers were at the meeting, and most of those were already there for the expo.
Folks, it is a done deal. It was a done deal as soon as Hildebran first proposed it. I would love to see it get changed. I'd love to see half the laws on the books go away since they limit the rights of individuals. If any of you can come up with a good plan, I'll back you all the way. The media will have to be invoilved. Forget places like Abilene - they still give free air and print space each year to the Sweetwater roundup and have NO desire to make waves. Perhaps Texas Monthly? While they are a very biased magazine, they do not mind making waves and making the system look foolish.
From an historical perspective it would appear that our society as a whole is approacing a point where only anarchy will be effective. You can't work within the system since it is the system that is broken.

JH

John,

I’m thinking this might be the proverbial straw. This is a law that sucks up all the air and leaves you suffocating. Texans must CHALLENGE Section 44 of HB12 and THWART its enforcement. The next time WE, in states like AZ, CA and NM, are enjoying THE FREEDOM to hunt reptiles and amphibians on roads, ROWS and vast amounts of public land, should remember-MUST REMEMBER the plight of our Texas brothers that have to SUFFER under this enormously unreasonable law. God almighty, I AM PISSED!

R

Back in the 90's when TPWD wanted to institute the non-game permitting system, we knew we were dealing with lots of problems. As John Hollister said, a group of us got together for a public comment meeting, raised the funds, hired a court-reporter to take down everything that was said and hired a moderator to keep everyone professional and everything running smooth. We made it clear to those that attended that this would not be a "get in your face" meeting.

John Herron, former director of the non-game permits attended, as did Matt Wagner and two other TPWD folks (whose names I cannot remember at this time). A few game wardens attended as well. Also, some folks who caught prairie dogs attended. The auditorium sat 85 people and it was standing room only. The moderator passed around a sign-in sheet and everyone who wanted to speak was given the opportunity. Some people made comments, and other asked questions of Herron and TPWD staff.

The main thing people wanted to know was what motivated Herron to want to have a permitting system. And we never did get a clear answer from Herron.

Buzz Ross then asked him if he knew anything about Teaming With Wildlife, which Herron denied knowing anything about. Buzz then produced info showing that Herron was on their committee from Texas. Sitting on the front row, I had a clear view of Herron as his face and neck blossomed to blotches of red. He thought we would never find out about that. Finally, all Herron would comment on was that Texas stood to gain a lot of money from Teaming With Wildlife if we could institute a permitting system.

The meeting went well as far as organization. However, everyone was very dissatisfied as Herron would not back down. He was intent on this permitting system.

Before Herron left, he asked a few of us if we would be interested in being on the Non-Game Advisory Board. Some of us said yes and he asked us to make recommendations for other people to be appointed. Of course, with anything like this, some feelings were hurt because they were not appointed.

Fast forward to meetings at TPWD which most of us attended when we could as well as attend the Commissioners meetings. If we were not able to attend the meeting, that was not a problem, as we were connected via teleconference. The main thing that Herron wanted on the permitting system was entirely too much information. We told him then that this system would not work as many animals would be counted two, three or more times.

What we saw, was many folks getting out of the reptile business all together. Reasons ranged from "too much paperwork" to "it's none of their (TPWD) business." Some herpers sold out their collections or moved their collections out of the state of Texas. Many never did get back into the reptile business and we lost some great breeders!

After 2-3 years of frustration, I wrote a letter to Herron and the Executive Director at the time (whose name escapes me), as well as all of the Commissioners, and point blank asked them "how many millions of dollars of taxpayer money was wasted on this bucket of holes." We never did get an answer.

And now we find out that the Non-Game Permitting Department hasn't looked at the records that the herpers sent over the last few years because it didn't make any sense. They couldn't find a way to compare apples to oranges. JUST LIKE WE TOLD THEM WOULD HAPPEN! They wanted too much information. We initially told them a permit requiring someones name and address would be sufficient. But that wasn't enough.

As with so much bureacracy, they weren't looking outside the hide box. What may have sounded good to them (TPWD) at the time, turned out to be a total waste of taxpayer dollars in the end. And this bucket of holes still costs taxpayers.

And all of this was NOT done through the Texas Legislature, it was through Texas Parks & Wildlife.

Too much information always amounts to NOTHING.

SO NOW, we have been dealt a dirty hand due to the underhandedness, lies and sneaky antics of Hilderbran.

Folks, we have always heard of dirty politics, but we saw it unfold right before our eyes.

After all, this is Texas and we have just had our rights to commune with nature taken away from us.

HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS WILL WE TAKE?

Bonnie
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