Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so i went to the link on NERDs website, and sent one of those general emails as listed through the link...then i decided to look up my Rep in my state. i found one of my local reps and emailed him..lol. im such a dork for this..but heres the email i sent to my LOCAL REP. what do yall think? who else should i send it to?

Sir,
I ask that you please join me, and many others, in opposition of HR 669. As you may know, this bill is designed to make it illegal to breed, buy, sell, import and export non-native species of animals. This would be detrimental in general to many companies and families across the US, not just Georgia.
Large companies, such as Petsmart or Petco sell many of these animals that would be prohibited. Reptiles, fish, and small mammals make up a large portion of their sales. Passing HR 669 would change that. The companies would lose sales, thus affecting those who work there.
Let us not forget the small town pet stores like the one off of Exit 221 on highway 75; Randars Reptiles and Exotics Pet sore. This mom and pop local pet store will surely go under if this bill passes. Many people might become unemployeed, and we all know that this economy does not need the extra stress of more who are jobless.
And what of those animals that cannot be sold? Will it be illegal to own them until they die? Or will there be a mass murder of animals because of HR 669?
On a more personal level, I have several pets, including snakes that are not indigenous to our great state. My ball pythons are every bit my pets as my cats. I hope to get into breeding them on a small scale, just for the enjoyment of working with the snakes, and learning. I do intend on selling some of my stock that I breed, but only to help sustain the creatures that I will keep.
To continue, as a child I had several pets, and have grown to love snakes. In my opinion, small mammals, birds and reptiles are just a part of family life as a cat or a dog. Alot of children begin learning responsibilities while taking care of a hamster, guinea pig, the family parrot, ball python, or other exotic pet.
While it's true that if it were not for exporting there would not be so many different types of exotic pets in America today, but I do not agree with uncontrolled trapping and exporting of animals. That, in my opinion, is bad for the environment. I think a bill to control wild animal capture and export for the purpose of the pet trade would make better sense than HR 669 does.
I believe that pets are important to this economy, and to every day life. Many people see their pets as their children and have a special love for animals. To some, animals are a reason to get up every morning or to get moving throughout the day. I, as an animal lover, have a passion for critters. They are my kids, and I say that about my snakes also.
In short, Mr. Scott, I ask that you support the residents of Georgia, and their pets. Please back us up in saying NO to HR 669.
Thank you very much for your time and attention.

and please dont yell at me for giving him my OPINION about exporting the wild caught ones...remember, opinions are like butt holes.....blah blah blah........anyways...just thought id SHARE...
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~Snake Charmer~
0.1 russian tortoise (natasha)
3.1 dogs (church, bandit, willy and tonka)
1.2 cats (taz, squeaky, cami)
0.1 king snake (q aka curly q or queenie)
2.2 'normal' ball pythons (zenith, butters, zahara, and shadow)

I think that you did a fair job of expressing your beliefs and viewpoints. Plus, you did all in a very positive manner. I hope the fact that this was an email does not lessen the impact of your letter and I hope that your Rep takes it seriously, weighing the options from many different angles - not just the paranoid environmental viewpoint that allowed for this bill to be written to begin with.

For years, many of us have wanted this hobby/industry to bond together in some sort of cohesive manner. So far, this current situation has allowed for that process to begin taking shape. Nothing unites people like a common enemy. I can only hope that we (the reptile/amphibian community as a whole) do not allow our current momentum to lapse when this current threat has passed (I'm trying to be optimistic).

Together we may well have squashed a very damaging bill from becoming law, if we can do that, there is absolutely no reason or excuse for us to let our current "bond" fall apart. Hopefully, we will be able to use this as a stepping stone for creating some sort of industry wide standards and eventually even propose and write some of our own bills. Bills that would not only protect the responsible members of our community, but also ones that would target those who have consistently brought negative attention to us.

We need to keep educating the public and bring back some of that "old school" research mentality that will allow us to develop advances in the care of our pets and animals. Breeding for profit is fine, but without new research and discoveries, even the biggest breeder has added nothing to our community.

Stay United.