Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well its gonna be even harder now if this goes through...
http://kingsnake.com/FWSReview.pdf

Makes you want to give a big thanks to whoever decided it would be cool to let there burms go in the Everglades.

I can't imagine there is a risk of sustainable colonies any where other than where they are now except Puerto Rico and Hawaii and I think Hawaii already regulates to prevent that. Florida already has them and it wouldn't mater for any other continental state so kind of closing the barn door after the horses are out. To restrict interstate commerce now would be a massive restriction to the liberties of many for no good reason. Also, each state probably already has all species so I don't see any potential benefit at all.

I wasn't able to post on the Pethobiest link at the top of this page for some reason but how does this sound for an argument. Are Florida keepers of giants willing to accept any compromise?

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The founding principals of this country dictate that there must be a very good reason to limit freedoms and I’m not sure this qualifies. Burmese pythons are already in the Everglades and many more in captivity inside Florida. Will restricting interstate commerce help anything? Even if every Burmese python in the Everglades where to die in a freak freeze tonight there would still be plenty of captive animals already inside the state to restock. Is there any other state with the right conditions for wild boids to reproduce? Even if there is a state left to protect there is no doubt already a captive population in that state so restricting interstate traffic does no good and might even backfire with more releases as the legal interstate business collapses. Even if this does become law I’m sure boids will still be transported across state lines it will just become an unregulable traffic with rewards for those willing to break the law reminiscent of prohibition.

If some regulation is unavoidable for political reasons it needs to be reasonable and enforceable so that the trade doesn’t just go underground. How about requiring transponders be implanted and recorded in the giant boid species before they can be sold in Florida? Sure there is some cost to such a state program that would have to be passed on to the consumer. I’m not too crazy about any government involvement and tracking but we have to admit that at least a small percentage of keepers have already failed to responsibly regulate themselves to get us to this point. A targeted program like this where every giant boid purchaser in Florida would know that if their snake turns up in the Everglades the transponder can be tracked back to them will be enough to encourage responsibility for the small percentage of keepers who caused this problem in the first place by releasing unwanted pets into the wild. We must find a way to appease the movement for an unenforceable ban that includes states and species where there is no risk and really wouldn’t do any good even with the one known risk of Burmese pythons in Florida.

....Florida just placed more restrictions on the keeping of giant snakes. I am not sure of all of the details but I believe that transponders and permit requirements for giant snakes were part of it.

I agree, if there is to be regulation on this it should be at the state level and that restricting interstate commerce will do little to solve the problem.

Don't forget, too, that it is not too early to contact your senators and representatives with your thoughts on this. Put it on their radar now so we don't have to scramble at the last minute. Also, the more we contact our legislators without asking for something the more likely we are to get their help when we do need it.

Rob

This is insane I love these snakes and this hobby. I want to add more to my collection, and breed/sell to others to help them as well. What a shame. I plan on writing a letter regarding this; we need to fight for our awesome hobby/livelihood/freedom
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http://ginevive.com/stuff.html/

Looks like it's time for the reptile community to get up off it's collective behind and speak your minds.

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

Looks like it's time for the reptile community to get up off it's collective behind and speak your minds.

Quig

You speak the truth! I Agree 100%
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Kyle
www.royalvariations.com

"be safe, be happy and dont let anyone make you afraid" David Coverdale

You can submit your comment here.

My comment:
Regarding the proposed snake ban,

I think that we should be aware of the broad variety of snakes that would fall
under the current description. The large snakes can be extremely dangerous, and
I can understand an interest in regulating them to keep them out of the hands of
inexperienced keepers.

On the other hand, small snakes like Ball Pythons, some Carpet Pythons, and Boas
make wonderful pets and are less dangerous than a kitten. They require specific
conditions to survive, making wild populations impossible in most of the United
States, and are only a danger to the small rodents we consider pests.

I'm a Ball Python hobbyist, and plan to grow my hobby of breeding beautiful
snakes into a business I can fully focus on when I reach retirement age. I
ask that you not crush this dream.

Thank you for considering my input,

Jeff Flanagan

Jeff, Thanks for posting the link...I would hope everyone takes the time to send their comments...going to do mine now. Real shame that people have the power to put these things in place that know little or nothing about reptiles.
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Dale....dgoins222@yahoo.com
www.LibertyReptiles.com

Can you post this as a link. Could not get there by typing it in.
Thanks
Link

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yea i think my comment was just about a thousand words..lol basing on the facts that florida already has a law in place and the country as a whole is more plagued by stray and wild dogs and cats that have the potential to carry rabies and hey pomeranians have a murder on their record,the economic standpoint that thousands of people would lose their jobs in an already hurting economy and thousands of U.S. business would crumble. IT IS TIME WE SPEAK THEIR HAS TO BE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THE US THAT KEEP REPTILES.. THATS A PRETTY BIG PART OF THE POPULATION TO BE RECKONED WITH..
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1.1 jungle carpets
1.1 sumatran bloods
1.1 het albino rtb

"the economic standpoint that thousands of people would lose their jobs in an already hurting economy and thousands of U.S. business would crumble."

letters like this to whoever is making these decisions will get it laughed at and discarded as if it were never received,,,,,,,,you cannot just throw around numbers that you somehow came up with.........do you have any idea at all how many tens of thousands of american jobs have been lost to companies going oversees and there is no end in site........those numbers are fact and easily obtained by anyone,,,,,,,,do you seriously think someone is gonna get a letter reading thousands of people would lose their jobs and THOUSANDS of U.S. companies will CRUMBLE is going to take it as hard fact and do something about it,,,,,,,,,DO NOT THROW AROUND NUMBERS ..........for every letter like that written that GETS read there will be more which are WELL thought out and WELL written with FACTS that gets discarded UNREAD as more of the same,,,,,,,,,,fight hard but fight with FACTS.......if you were fighting against the ENTIRE pet industry nationwide being banned in any manner then you could MAYBE use those kind of numbers.....BLAH BLAH BLAH,,,,,my point is your gonna make it hard for the real facts to be heard if you flood them with what will be considered completely unrealistic........fight by defending false claims of your animals being a threat in anyway because they are sold across state lines.......dont make apocolyptic claims of the end of the world over it.....there should be WELL written based on fact letters written by the more prominent members of this "community" and those can then be endorsed and signed by all who beleive in them............if not we might as well resort to saying that by allowing us to continue that we can fight terror and keep alqueda out of florida because of their fear of boids

Here were my thoughts. I have already submitted my comments.

Banning ALL pythons and boas is a radical and ridiculous notion. I understand that CERTAIN species in CERTAIN areas have become a nuisance and may need to be regulated, such as Burmese Python in the Florida Everglades. However, even banning Burmese Pythons in EVERY state makes no sense. Most states would not be able to support a colony of wild Burmese Pythons because the climate in most states is not conducive to their survival.

Besides the Burmese Pythons and Reticulated Pythons, I have not heard of one account of another member of the Python or Boa family that could be considered injurious. Red-eared Slider Turtles have an impact on on wildlife that is probably 1,000 times greater as people release them in such great numbers in our lakes and rivers. They eventually breed and form successful colonies that feed on the local wildlife and including eggs layed from migratory birds and still yet the US Fish and Wildlife service seeks to ban Pythons and Boas rather than the red-eared slider? This rational makes no sense.

This is an issue that needs to be addressed one species at a time in one location at a time. Isn't this the entire reason we have local agencies such as the Department of Fish and Game? They should be the ones on a local level to decide what species need to be restricted because of a local problem. I live in Arizona and I am not aware of any wild colonies of Burmese Pythons in the middle of the desert. Why should an animal that is causing problems 1,500 miles away in Florida be banned from an area that is not experiencing any problems?

By the same token, Alligators are allowed as pets in Florida. In Arizona we pull Alligators out of our man-made lakes and rivers every day. Because of this, our LOCAL agency has chosen to ban Alligators as pets because they can survive and reproduce in our Arizona climate and have become a nuisance.

Once again, to ban an ENTIRE species because of a LOCAL problem with ONE SUB-SPECIES is not right. It would be the equivalent of banning dogs because Pit Bulls were considered "injurious".

From an economic stand point, the impact would be HUGE!!! I personally maintain a breeding colony and is worth nearly $100,000 and I am only a small breeder. Many breeders around the country maintain colonies worth nearly $5 million. For every snake produced in captivity it has to be sold, shipped and cared for over the next 20 - 30 years. The amount of money spent on that animal over the course of it's life is astronomical. I also understand that the rodent breeding industry needed to feed these Pythons and Boas in a multi-billion dollar industry. If this country is ignorant enough to put a wide-spread ban on several entire species, it will without a doubt have an enormous economic impact that can not be fully appreciated until such a ban is imposed.

I implore you to PLEASE think before you act!

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Ryan Sherman
Scottsdale, Arizona
www.ThePaintedPython.com

Well said! I will be sending a letter out Monday morning PRIORITY!

It's been said before, but I'll say it again. PLEASE write letters and PLEASE by RESPECTFUL!!!!!!

Paul
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Paul Snyder

Maybe if everyone with a website can put a link to this on their home page, we can spread the word even quicker. We need to make this thing die quickly before it grows out of control!
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Ryan Sherman
Scottsdale, Arizona
www.ThePaintedPython.com

Here is something you all need to look at and take action. Feds and fish and wildlife are trying to ban all boa and python species to be imported and interstate transport. That means whatever state you are in that is where you can buy or sell from. Anything else would be illegal. Whether you are a hobbyist or business this will be a problem. For example on the business side many people will get out due to the fact that they are restricted to selling to customers within a state. As time goes that will affect the quality of animals and at that time affect the hobbyist itself. There are many more examples and I am sure many of you can figure that out real quick. And if this law is pass what will stop the feds and fish & wildlife to do the same to all reptile species. The link below is a link to the F & W proposal. Take a look at it.

http://www.pethobbyist.com/sitenews/index.php?/archives/202-Feds-Move-To-Ban-Pythons-Boas.html

And after you read that and think how it really can affect you and the whole hobby please take time and leave a comment with F & W. Let them know what you think about the proposal, why it would affect you and the hobby itself.

Here is the link to leave a comment for F & W. Follow the link below. After you click on the link on the bottom right of the page you will see Add Comments and click on the yellow circle and follow the instructions.
WHEN WRITING/COMMENTING BE PROFESSIONAL!!

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=FWS-R9-FHC-2008-0015

Please take this matter of importance and not a joke like most of the proposal F & W usually do. Send as many comments as possible as you like but use different names and info. And also forward this email to as many people you know that have a reptile. And do remember your comments have to be in by April 30, 2008. All the comments help. Thanks for your time.

I would love to send my comments but I think our comments would be treated with more respect if we were able to answer the 10 questions they asked. I know how to find the answer to the first question but where in the world would we get the answer to the other questions. I just don't want my comments to be treated as "another hate mail from a snake hobbyist". I'm pretty sure after reading a couple 100s of outrage snake hobbyist complaining why this ban unfair, the people reading it will just start to skim the rest of the comments.
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1.0 Graziani Pastel Ball Python (Baldwin)
0.1 Spider Ball Python
1.1 Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Snow Kenyan Sand Boa (Gaara)
1.0 Blue Garter Snake (Blue)
0.1 Sumatran Blood Python (Medusa)

I was floored when I saw that heading on banning boas and pythons. Here is the statement I submitted:

I do believe that wild populations of Burmese Pythons living in Florida is not a good thing. However, how is banning all boas and pythons going to solve this problem? I think it would be more reasonable to regulate the GIANT species of pythons in Florida, where the problem exists. If hobbyists or breeders in Florida want to keep those species, I don’t think obtaining a permit would be too much to ask. That may keep these snakes out of the hands of irresponsible owners, who may turn them loose. Although, at this point, with wild populations already existing, I don’t know if it will completely solve Florida’s problems. I just don’t see how banning these snakes, especially the smaller, harmless species, everywhere in the US, can possibly be considered a rational solution. The biggest problem I can see with any regulation, is how easy it would be for the government to quietly add additional species. Give and inch- take a mile. Regulation of truly dangerous species is one thing, but adding harmless species such as ball pythons, green tree pythons, and others, is other thing entirely.

As far as importation goes, the majority of imported reptiles do come into Florida from other countries. I personally am not a fan of importing large numbers of common species so that they can end up in pet stores, especially when they can be captive bred and born so easily. Do we really need to import thousands of normal ball pythons every year when there are tens of thousands being produced here in the US? Captive bred and born reptiles do so much better in captivity, and make much better pets, than imports. I do believe that small numbers of different species, especially rare ones, or rare color morphs, should be imported. That helps breeders maintain genetic diversity. Taking a few hundred individuals out of the wild will not affect wild populations.

Boas and Pythons represent a huge portion of the reptile industry. Everyone knows how valuable many of the ball python and boa constrictor morphs are. I consider myself only a mid-level breeder, and my collection is easily worth a half million dollars. I focus mainly on species that I feel make good pets, such as ball pythons. I produce nearly 1000 babies per year. If it becomes illegal for me to ship my offspring out of the state, I will be out of business. Ball pythons and other smaller species of boas and pythons pose no threat to human life whatsoever. How can it be justified to essentially kill that market. There is no sensible reason for it. I certainly can’t make a living only selling them in my own state, Wisconsin. If I want to stay in business, would I be forced to secretly ship them out of the state, essentially making me a criminal? Does anyone out there really think it is a crime to be a ball python breeder? If I go out of business, what am I supposed to do with my breeding stock? I can’t sell them because I would have to ship them out of state. That is if I could even find a buyer for them. If there is no longer a market for them, I would have a very difficult time selling them. I would be lucky to find people to take them for free. That would financially devastate me Or am I supposed to let my snakes go? Return them to the wild? That certainly doesn’t make sense and would be exactly what the government is trying to enact this law for in the first place. I certainly couldn’t afford to keep my large collection if I wasn’t making any money on it. It costs me tens of thousands of dollars per year to feed and maintain my collection. Would I even be able to feed them if there are no rodent breeders still in business? It also takes me 40-50 hours a week to care for my collection. If I had no income from them, I would have to find another career, which would take away all the time I have to care for my animals. Now, think of my situation and multiply it by the number of full-time breeders and part-time breeders in the US. There are thousands of us. Where are all those snakes supposed to go? This law would greatly impact the economy. What about all those rodent breeders selling to reptile breeders? What about cage and equipment manufacturers? What about retail pet stores? We are talking about billions of dollars here. I know the reptile industry is small compared to some other industries, but it is still important, especially to those of us in the industry.

If there is ever a time for every single hobbyist, breeders, wholesaler, or retailer to act, it is now. Once a law is in place, there won’t be much we can do. Every single one of us must voice our concerns and opinions in an intelligent, proper manner. I don’t think the government realizes how educated, intelligent, and motivated the members of the reptile community really are. Please find your voice and speak up against this, or our hobby, our industry, and in some cases, or livelihood, will never be the same.

Garrick DeMeyer
Royal Constrictor Designs

Before the Feds pass such laws they have to allow industry, the public, and interest groups a chance to challenge proposed changes to the Code of Federal Regulations. That is the purpose of this public notice in the Federal Register.

Clearly this law will do much more harm than good and will only hurt an already weak economy. We simply have to ban together and challenge this foolish proposal. Our hobby is a multi billion dollar industry. The majority of all my sales go right back out in the form of expenses and taxes. I am sure FedEx, UPS and Delta would feel this ban. Not to mention all the other businesses that produce the tubs, cages, shipping supplies, rodent chow, rodents... the list goes on and on. Everyone needs to write!

In the future It would be much more effective to have a Political Action Committee such as the NRA to protect our freedoms and the economic well being of so many people who would be impacted by such a ban. We really need to get serious about such a group and everyone needs to join! Or it's just a matter of time before our hobby will be an illegal one.
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OZZYBOIDS

You obviously have the right idea, not to mention the popularity to do such a thing. Get it started.

It was mentioned that we need a "lobbying" party for situations like this. We already have one. It's called PIJAC. Pet Industry Joint Advisory Committee. That's where the money from the NARBC auction's goes to. Individuals, collectors, breeders, hobbiests, retailers, wholesalers, anyone can join. They are the pet industry voice in washington. I'm not saying we should not write letters regarding this preposed ban, everyone should but it would not hurt to join PIJAC as well. I don't have the details on joining but I would assume you could google it. Just thought I would bring this up. Also for those that have been around for a while, may remember whan there was a preposed ban on venomous snakes back in the late 70's. Due to an overwhelming amount of letters, petitions and phone calls by the reptile community the preposal got shot down real quick. Remember, "strenght in numbers".
Bruce Delles c/o Twin Cities Reptiles
IN THE REATIL REPTILE BUSINESS SINCE 1978
(and hopefully for many more years)

interstate sales is nowhere near and will never ever be a MULTI BILLION dollar industry,,,,,,,,,pet stores will not close,rodent dealers will not stop breeding and or selling,cage makers will still make cages.......and DELTA,UPS,and FED EX will do just FINE,,,,,,,,,im in no means in favor of any action which will hurt what so many have done to create and how far this has come thanks to them in such a short time because it can only make you wonder what will happen in the next ten or twenty years........but facts are facts......and if its going to be fought it HAS to be done with facts ........again im on the same side as everyone so take it for what its worth or dont .......all my best to all .......Jerry

Oz,

I agree, we must join and be united against these political adversaries. The time has come for us to be serious about protecting our rights.
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Kyle
www.royalvariations.com

"be safe, be happy and dont let anyone make you afraid" David Coverdale

We have read many of the comments that are being sent. Some have stated that the giants need to be regulated. If you allow them to ban the giants, what will be next?!?!?! Comments should be a general statement about pythons and boas, not that it would be ok to ban the giants, but leave the little snakes alone. Soon all the little snakes will get targeted too.

We keep ball pythons, boas and burms. We are in Colorado.... there is no way that any of these can live here in the wild, even in the summer as our lows drop down into the 60's even on the warmest days.

Florida already has regulations in effect that include permits and microchiping of all large snake species. Florida's Everglades is the only enviornment in the Continential United States that can sustain a population of non-native species, so it would not be fair to give up the giants across the board.

If you give them an inch, they WILL take a mile.

Randy & Michelle
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Randy and Michelle
Art In Scales
(719) 439-4199
info@artinscales.com

we should keep hitting on the fact that this is NOT an interstate problem, but one that can only even POTENTIALLY affect south Florida. It's not a federal concern and the situation is already adequately addressed in the one state where it is needed.
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Brad Chambers

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

This is exactly what I stressed in my comments. These are really LOCAL issues and shouldn't be placed under a national umbrella. I agree that giant boids should be regulated in SOUTH FLORIDA because they have become a serious problem, but why should they regulate giant boids in my state of Arizona when they wouldn't survive a summer of 115 degrees at 20% humidty?
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Ryan Sherman
Scottsdale, Arizona
www.ThePaintedPython.com

I agree with you, but I would like to note that California (the southern CA to be exact) can support escaped and free boas and pythons. The weather here is just perfect for them and there's plenty of wild life that that they can feed on such as wild native rabbits and rodents. I see a lot of rabbits where I live and I live in Los Angeles.

How close does the Sonoran Boa come to California? I would think if Southern CA was good habitat for boa constrictors to take over this northern most adapted boa constrictor would have expanded its range there already. Sure a few escapes may survive or even breed but it doesn't sound like the habitat is right for them to thrive.

I would also like to hear more about the Burmese pythons in the Everglades. A central question is how many of the animals in the Everglades where hatched there vs. how many released. I heard that there may have been some genetic studies to see how closely the animals found in the wild are related to each other. Of course even that wouldn't be perfect because maybe one big breeder with a closely related colony decided to get out of burms the wrong way. If the transponder requirement is there now already I think it could be argued that is sufficient incentive to discourage new releases.

Regardless it's a state issue in the few places where the climate could possibly support them and even there closing interstate commerce would do no good because of the number of animals in the state already. Closing the interstate market would only encourage more releases and illegal transport as supply and demand imbalances build up between states.

The Lacey Act is the club that's handy for the feds even if it doesn't make any sense. They may be considering the Lacey Act mainly to stop imports from outside the country. I’ve read a number of articles that indicate that make it sound like lots of Burmese pythons are being imported. Anyone have numbers as to if this is true or not? With the Burmese morphs long established and reasonably priced I would think the US captive production would easily cover the demand and I can’t imagine imports being dirt cheap enough like with the ball pythons to keep a big import trade going.

If you read the ten questions, you will notice they are all related to "industry". There is very little said about the threat to wildlife. Every F&W officer knows a boa or python has no chance in the wild in any state that winter time temps are below 40 degrees for any length of time. This is so far, a very unregulated industry, meaning anyone with the knowledge can breed and sell a small amount of these animals from their house and make a nice little chunk of change from it. This is an untapped revenue stream for the Fed. Gov. They are Phishing to find out just how many people are breeding and selling. Look how many fed and state officials have been at Daytona the past few years. The Gov. is broke and needs revenue, we are an easy group to pick on because although there are a lot of us (meaning more revenue), we are not in the general mainstream. But the prices of some of these animals is high enough that it may warrent other legislation. It is not like we have "fuzzy kitties". For the most part, the general public would be glad to see lots of restrictions put on us, and who would benefit from that...the feds, who sell the permits and those that have a vested interest in the industry. They say that permits would be issued for medical, zoological, etc purposes. Does anyone know where pythons are used in medical purposes? This is not even a bill yet, like I said, it is a phishing trip. If the Feds were really interested in protecting the wildlife, they would be going after the ferro cat and pack dog problem that has ravaged much of the wildlife in this country. EVERYONE.....follow the money trail, nothing happens in this country without leaving a trail of greenbacks.

When writing your letters be sure to give accurate information..If your just a hobbyist that doesn't want to lose the right to purchase(or trade)an animal,then say so.

If your actually turning a profit then that's another matter..In which case your not only losing a freedom(Pursuit of happiness),but a livelihood as well(ie,liberty).

Either way,write!...but be accurate,poignant,and polite.
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Charles Glaspie

Good point. Never saw it at that angle, but you can never be sure with the Feds. So please keep writing. Also I would like to add that the UC system does do research in boids. UCLA has a couple of grad students studying the feeding mechanisms of large and mid-size pythons such as ball pythons to burmese pythons. Also UCR is one of the schools that does heavy research in native venomous snakes, especially the rattlesnake. I think they are mentioned a lot in Venom 911.

sent my lengthy comment via the above posted link.
i urge you all to do the same.
please don't take this the wrong way, but some of you need to use spell check !
don't sound like a pissed off hillbilly ! (although we love you guys here )
try to limit any ranting, and just state lucid, relevant, facts and opinions.
remember , we want to project a unified front vis a vis this potentially devastating legislation. best accomplished without getting your freak on.
as it is they think all herpers are freaks, we need to help them understand this is not necessarily the case !
God help us, ck

I'll preface this by saying that I don't agree with the proposed ban. Take the random thoughts as nothing but my random thoughts - nothing that needs to be taken too seriously.

I can't believe how many people on the forums are thinking they are banning these animals - how many people are up in arms thinking that the government is going to take their ball python collection away!!! Relax people they aren't banning your snakes, they aren't banning your right to keep, breed, or sell snakes - they are considering banning the interstate shipping of snakes.

I find it ironic that all these people that have been preaching "I would breed even if there were no one buying" now find this proposition the end of their world.

Actually for many of us that don't have huge facilities full of snakes and huge overhead - this might open up a huge market place for us - ok well those of us that don't live in the same state as say NERD, BHB or SK. In fact this ban could level the playing field for the small to mid-size breeder.

Guess those anti CH/WC will be stoked on this one.

Considering that all shipped snakes are still subject to the Lacey Act and most are currently not be shipped to Lacey standards - you are currently breaking the same law as you would be if this passed anyway.

The likelihood of a federal ban to alleviate a local issue seems rather absurd - didn't they just pass a bunch of laws for the large constrictors in FL - shouldn't they wait to see how effective they are before trying something else?

I'd be willing to bet if this went into effect there would be plenty of people in high places that could get those "permits".

Yeah - give them an inch they'll take a mile - but if I said it once I've said it a thousand times before preaching recruitment we need to preach responsibility. Too many people out there shouldn't own snakes.

Daytona might be a drag - but considering Anaheim is mostly locals only - I don't see a huge change.

Now go write your letters.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

You're right...doesn't hurt local shows. But, the proposal says tranportation between states...not shipping. Of the snakes in my collection maybe 3 came from my state...has nothing to do with selling...limits my buying. Not to mention the shows that would be put out of business. You're probably also right it wouldn't happen...but most of us will not "wait and see".

On another note...how does attempting to crush an industry fit into the stimulus package LOL.
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Dale....dgoins222@yahoo.com
www.LibertyReptiles.com

As I understand it, this is not a proposed bill, but regulations being put forth by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. Proposed regs are written by the federal bureaucrats in Washington, many times with help from public interest groups or lobbists. Federal bureaucrats are the people who work for the government. In many cases they are much more powerful than our elected officials, especially if they have been there a long time. I've seen government agencies drag out implementation of a signed bill for years because they didn't like it or through proposed rule making, change the entire concept of a signed bill.

We should be smart by sending well thought out comments and answers to the questions in the proposed regs to US Fish and Wildlife, the agency who has proposed these rules. But lets not stop there - we also need to hit our elected officials hard with letters. Heat can be applied by the politicians to the bureaucrats. We need to find some fellow reptile enthusiasts in congress, especially if they are on the committees that oversee Fish and Wildlife. Does anyone know of any US elected official that keep reptiles that could help? We may also want to identify those congressmen that are against taking away individual's rights with big government regulations - they may be another source of help. Anyone know the names of these elected officials that we could get to help us?

As we send letters to our congressmen, it is important to send them to those whose districts include where you live. "I live in your district and I am very concerned about the regulations being proposed by . . . . " It is also important to send letters to those congressmen who sit on the house and senate committees that oversee US Fish and Wildlife within the Department of Interior. While they may not be sympathetic to our fight, they could be overwhelmed by the number of letters and decide there are bigger issues to concern themselves with, especially if they are up for election. I believe in the House it is the Committee on Natural Resources, sub-committee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. Their link follows.

http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/...page&Itemid=60

In the Senate, I believe the committee with jurisdiction over US Fish and Wildlife is the Committee on Environment and Public Works, but I may be wrong here. Their link is

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.c...n=Members.Home

We need to make sure that these committees have jurisdiction over Fish and Wildlife, but that may have to wait until tomorrow. If so, these are the congressmen and women we need to target in addition to our local representatives and senators.

Let's keep the good ideas flowing . . .
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Alice Cobb
Florida Reptile Room

REMEMBER......IT'S NOT THE MONEY......!!!

you all keep telling yourselves that....

it's all about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$and you all know it.......
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.sell them illegally......tons of other stuff are sold that way anyhow......that's what will happen anyways
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(I love how people have a company name and all , maybe even a website,BEFORE they know anything OR ever bred one snake clutch...!!LOL.makes me wonder when they ask questions that any paperback, piece of crap book would answer)......
just a thought.....
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You’re absolutely right. With the obviously big demand there would still be a big interstate market even if this goes through. That market would just be illegal and the profits would all go underground to those willing to break the law. And I'm sure they would not be paying taxes either. But some fed office would get a bigger budget to try to catch the crooks so those bureaucrats should be happy to put this in place. We tried banning a popular recreational drug like snakes once, it didn't work out.