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WE DID IT FOLKS!!!! Victory over HR669! You can thank yourselves and the Reptile Nation, for a hard fought Victory! Our nearly 50,000 grassroots letters and 1,000s of phone calls to the offices of the subcommittee members clearly prevailed at today's Insular Affairs Subcommittee hearing on HR 669. HR 669 in it's current form is finished. For anything to go forward it MUST be re-written from the ground up....and USARK will have a seat at the table along with other stake holders.

Delegate Faleomavega from Samoa said, "The letter and phone campaign hit the subcommittee like a BUZZ SAW". Harry Burroughs, of the subcommittee staff said, "I haven't seen a letter writing campaign like this in 30 years! You should be proud of yourselves." Take heart in the fact that the Reptile Nation stopped HR669 in it's tracks!!

We also need to thank Congressman Henry Brown, SC for helping us to focus our fight on the Subcommittee as opposed to the full House of Representatives. He is the one who instructed us to write real letters to be truly effective. He said emails are fine if that is all you can manage, but they can be filtered and deleted. There is no denying the weight of thousands of paper letters from American citizens. The Reptile Nation was responsible for 49,229 letters delivered to the Subcommittee in less than two weeks. Congressman Brown's staff made sure they all got in the door. 38,000 of those letters will be entered into the permanent record. Thank you my friends!

Credit should also be given to Bill Martin, a witness who testified at the hearing. He is the President of Blue Ridge Aquatics, a large multi-state Tilapia farming operation. They farm Tilapia as a food fish. He had some serious problems with the bill and the ear of much of the committee. His plain talk of how this bill would destroy hundreds of families hit home. What they do and the impact this bill would have on them parallels the plight of the Reptile Nation.

Senior Democrat staff from the House Committee on Natural Resources advised Subcommittee Chair Madeleine Bordallo that if she wants something to go forward she will have to go back to square one and draft a new bill. Then have another subcommittee hearing. When and if she does, USARK will be there to represent the interests of the Reptile Nation!! They probably will try, and that will be our challenge for another day. But Today VICTORY is SWEET!...... Celebrate today and rest, because tomorrow we must get ready to fight again.

Thank you Reptile Nation! Thank you Tom Wolfe. Thank you everyone who did their part.

Stay tuned... This fight has only begun!

USARK

A note from Tom Wolfe:

"The good news is, USARK engineered a significant victory which caught the attention of the entire membership of the Subcommittee and their staffs.
The bad news is this is just the first step in the process. Members of the Reptile Nation should be jubilant with this victory. However, our success should be measured, because the proponents of HR 669 will be back soon with another version of the same legislation. They will not rest, so we must not rest either.
Take satisfaction in a job well done and a victory well deserved, but know we all must rise up again to fight on because the battle has just begun!"

( pic above ) - USARK President, Andrew Wyatt presents Republican Staff Director Harry Burroughs the 38,000 letters that were admitted into the record of the official proceedings of the Insular Affairs, Oceans & Wildlife Subcommittee hearing on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

( pic above ) - Partial view of the 14 boxes and 11 USPS mail bins containing the 38,000 letters delivered to the Insular Affairs, Oceans & Wildlife Subcommittee.

( pic above ) - Insular Affairs, Oceans & Wildlife Subcommittee Ranking Republican Henry Brown, (SC-1) accepts one of the 25 containers comprising of over 38,000 letters from THE REPTILE NATION delivered to the subcommittee hearing on April 23, 2009. Left to right, Andrew Wyatt - President USARK, Congressman Henry Brown and Tom Wolfe - Washington representative for USARK.

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Andrew Wyatt
President USARK

A well-deserved victory-and against tremendous odds. Thanks to USARK, PIJAC, Kingsnake.com and all the thousands of herpers who sent in their letters and made their phone calls!

Remember-this certainly isn't over-we've won the battle but must be prepared for the war to go on.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

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

Congrats and thanks to all. What a great beginning for a Worldwide movement just in it's infancy. I'm a closet ISO fan BTW. lol
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

n/p

To everyone that wrote a letter, sent an email, made a phone call, THANK YOU.

USARK and PIJAC, THANK YOU.

Kingsnake.com and all forums that participated in keeping us informed of the situation, THANK YOU.
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Proud supporter of USARK and Kingsnake.com
“We stand together or we fall apart”

Kyle
www.royalvariations.com

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

A huge congradulations to USARK, Andrew Wyatt, and the REPTILE NATION. Folks I want to personally extend my thanks to all of you who worked so hard to accomplish this goal. Never before has the Herp Industry united as one HUGE VOICE and accomplished something of this nature. All of this began in Chicago several months ago with only about 40-50 of us in attendance. It was there that I met Andrew Wyatt and introduced to the concept of USARK and it was there the organization was born. We have come a long way in a very short time. For many months I have been actively involved in fighting this bill and asking for support from many of you. Well we've done it but the job has just begun. Right now USARK needs your financial support like never before. Please for those of you who haven't joined us please do so. Those of us that can afford it in these hard economic times please donate whatever you can to help keep up the necessary work that has to be done in the future. I'm asking all of you to dig deep in order to keep our Industry alive and well. ONCE AGAIN I WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU ACCOMPLISHED AND THE SACRIFICES YOU MADE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN...THANKS
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

I just want to chime in here and give a congratulations to all of the efforts USARK, PIJAC, and all others here have made thus far. Although there is certainly more to be done, I will have to admit that this is the largest collaborative effort I have seen the reptile community make thus far. I have to say, I am truly impressed and amazed.

I also wanted to thank PIJAC and KINGSNAKE.COM for defeating this bill in it's original form as well. Back in the day of the Injurious Animal Act that was proposed in the 1970's Louis Porras at the Shed organized all the herpers he could [mostly Fl. ones including me] and we had petitions signed by anybody and everybody and sent them in. In this day of better technology Jeff B. keeps all of us informed on bills such as these but on a jillion other matters as well. Back in the day it was all word of mouth. Also PIJAC has been looking after our interest long before most of you even realized it existed. I take my hat off to Marshall Meyers for his many years of service to the Reptile Industry thru PIJAC. Again thanks to all of you who thru our shoestring grassroots Army accomplished the near impossible. A modern day David and Goliath story. Again $$$$$ is needed to make these organizations work and I encourage all to do what you can....thanks
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

np

Hi all, this is truly awesome!

I understand the fight is not over yet and we need to continue writing letters. My question is, can we get a list of the members that need to be convinced? Wouldn't it be better to blanket the ones that are for the bill with letters and calls? Or should we just email and fax all of them still?

Thank you very much,
Carole
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----------------------
www.reptilecare.com

You would need to keep calling on the Democrats to do this. When I called the committee members, almost without exception, the person answering in Republican offices readily told me that their Congressman was vehemently opposed to HR669. In the Dem offices, their reply was ALWAYS short and they just stated that they would note my call. I took that to mean that the Dem congressperson was for the bill as it stood. I don't think we need to convince the Republicans.

This is not meant as a political statement, just a statement of what I was told when I called each and every members office. (and my interpretation of what I was told in response.)
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Greg Jackson

THANK YOU EVERYONE for DEFYING DESTINY Vic Morgan......pic.....here's to HR669

Before I write anything that could possibly be construed as criticism, I want to thank everyone from USARK for the tremendous amount of work that they have done in opposing this legislation. You should all be extremely proud of a job well don.

Isn't it a little premature to be declaring victory? Is there anything to keep Bordallo from making some changes and re-submitting this? Is it out of the question that there could be an entirely new draft submitted? I assume that you have more information than what was shared here if you feel that we've achieved victory. Please let us know when you can if there's any more to the story.

Thanks again for your tireless work on this. We all know that this issue will come up again, whether it's in this session of Congress or next year. I'm sure you will be on the front lines again the next time this issue comes up. Thanks also to the folks at PIJAC, and to all of the individuals with fish, birds and reptiles that did their part.

Joe Hiduke

She must write a new bill to move forward... HR669 is done. I have no doubt she will submitt a new bill in the coming weeks.
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Andrew Wyatt
President USARK

He was rather clear about that. He was only lookiing out for his own interests. The fact that our goals were the same was a coincidence. If the bill had been changed to allow tilapia and no herps, he would habe been happy. There was also a significant animal rights presence there, and they were vocal. If you watched the procedings, the woman in the shawl at the front table was one of them. 669 will not be back, but there WILL be another bill, and there is going to be compromise between what we want and what they want. I have a feeling that large constrictors are at least going to have to be microchipped, possibly gone.

I also think the Amythistine needs to be removed from the "big 5". Chimps will be gone, as will probably be big cats. People, this was just the first round. Stay alert!!!

Does this mean I can't sleep with or take a bath with my adult Chimpanzee any more like the lady in Connecticut?...lol
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

Tom, I seem to remember many years ago at the Gladys Porter zoo when you were hugging a baby Orangatan...LOL

( compromise between what we want and what they want )

The question is who exactly is " WE " and who's going to determine what the appropriate compromises are that " WE " agree to if / when it comes to that. Majority rules ? Deepest pockets ?

I don't expect the Petcos or any of the major players in the pet trade to say much of anything on behalf of the private individual who wants to maintain croc monitors or maybe work with some obscure viper species. Actually if anything I expect the opposite. They will agree that these peoples interest are expendable as part of their compromise.Like wise I feel there is division among reptile keepers as to what is and isn't important as far as species bans. This disgust me to no end.

Compromise will inevitably mean a loss of diversity with in the industry.

The people that work with species that are considered " niche" animals in the trade are often the people who have the deepest passion for what they do. These are also the people who are in the most vulnerable position.

I think it would be a travesty to roll over and agree to some form of peace making legislation that will deprive individuals from working with the special interest species of their choice because it doesn't make the popular list.

The big cat and primate people have been at the top of the Activist hit list since day one. In many ways the relentless activist attacks on these keepers are the most telling statement as to what a bunch of hypocritical money hungry frauds the people who represent these "Animal Rights" organizations really are.

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

That's what I'm wondering. Aren't we ALL looking out for our self interests? Who will be making the compromises? Why will compromising prevent the AR whackos from continuing to push forward with their goal of banning ownership of all reptiles? They've already determined boas and ball pythons are "dangerous" and/or "invasive." They obviously are not acting in good faith to begin with. As far as HR669, why compromise with a turd? Aside from the thousand other reasons why that bill makes no sense, just the fact that (at least for reptiles) it's Federal legislation for an issue that's a local issue makes it invalid, imo.

I own three snakes, two of them indigo snakes (ie, native species). I could hide my small rainbow boa in a closet somewhere if I have to. Should I support HR669 if I think it might take the pressure off of regulation of *native* species?

Thanks,
Ed

>>( compromise between what we want and what they want )
>>
>>The question is who exactly is " WE " and who's going to determine what the appropriate compromises are that " WE " agree to if / when it comes to that. Majority rules ? Deepest pockets ?
>>
>> I don't expect the Petcos or any of the major players in the pet trade to say much of anything on behalf of the private individual who wants to maintain croc monitors or maybe work with some obscure viper species. Actually if anything I expect the opposite. They will agree that these peoples interest are expendable as part of their compromise.Like wise I feel there is division among reptile keepers as to what is and isn't important as far as species bans. This disgust me to no end.
>>
>> Compromise will inevitably mean a loss of diversity with in the industry.
>>
>> The people that work with species that are considered " niche" animals in the trade are often the people who have the deepest passion for what they do. These are also the people who are in the most vulnerable position.
>>
>> I think it would be a travesty to roll over and agree to some form of peace making legislation that will deprive individuals from working with the special interest species of their choice because it doesn't make the popular list.
>>
>> The big cat and primate people have been at the top of the Activist hit list since day one. In many ways the relentless activist attacks on these keepers are the most telling statement as to what a bunch of hypocritical money hungry frauds the people who represent these "Animal Rights" organizations really are.
>>
>>
>>Ernie Eison
>>WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

"I think it would be a travesty to roll over and agree to some form of peace making legislation that will deprive individuals from working with the special interest species of their choice because it doesn't make the popular list."

Then it would boil down to all or nothing...and "all" ain't gonna happen. The game will have to be played, and there will be no complete winners. Compromise is the only way to get most of what you want.

Jaykis,

No, I don't think compromise is the answer at all. Unless the compromise is better regulation that satisfies them because it is the smart thing to do and it is best for the industry and herps. Arbitrary lists (or bag limits), general consensus and the precautionary principle don't work for me. Anyone should be able to keep anything they want as long as they can do it properly, end of story. Again, this is America!

It depends what you are compromising about and with who. I will not give up my right or priviledge to keep any species. Now, if you are talking about no regulation versus regulation then I think we need to compromise but I will not compromise on what I can keep and how many I can keep. What rational arguement is there for that? Everything "they" do to take away my rights and priviledges must have a compelling, reasonable arguement to justify that action. I have not heard one yet. Usually it is just someone's opinion or mis-use of the precautionary principle.

If there was a deadly venomous snake that could shoot laser beams out of it eyes and get out of every cage known to man then I would concede that people shouldn't be allowed to keep that species, otherwise, don't compromise my rights.

Welkerii
El Paso, TX

" Compromise is the only way to get most of what you want.'

I don't know what anybody else wants anymore then they know what I want. I certainly don't want anyone negotiating anything way so that they can get most what of THEY want. The game will have to be played ? No it doesn't. If it comes down to playing the game. It will be a choice made by people who only have their best interest in mind. Not anyone else's. The major players in the animal trade could squash anything the activist can throw out there if they choose to fight but they don't want to. The sad thing is these are the guys that are going to be calling the shots on OUR behalf if deals are cut. There's a vast difference between bargaining in good faith and cutting self serving deals.

Some people might be ok with that but me personally ,

I keep seeing statements like "something has to be done " or "we have to do this or that". Again I can't speak for anyone else but as far my business and animal husbandry practices are concerned. NOTHING has to be done. My game is and always has been tight.

I'm sick of people acting like individual keepers should be held accountable for the actions of others. I'm no more responsible for how other people maintain their animals then I am for how someone else drives their car. When someone gets caught drunk driving should we all get tickets ? Should we all lose our driving privileges ? It's their probelm right ? As far as Im concerned it's the same with animals. If somebody has a problem take it out on them not me.

Any further legislation that's negotiated for should involve dealing with wildlife issues on a one to one basis not blanket laws that mix us all up in the same pot. Why should responsible owners and business`s have to sacrifice because of the irresponsible actions of others and why should people who are allegedly Pro ownership support law making that punishes the innocent ?

If someone wants to negotiate and compromise on their own belonging that's fine but don't go negotiating away my personal interest acting like it was the right thing to do. I didn't ask for anyone's approval as to what species I could or couldn't work with when I got into the animal world 40 + yrs ago and I'm not going to ask for anyone's now.

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

Sorry guys, but that's dinosaur thinking. If you can't bend in your thoughts, the next thing is to break. Some kind of law WILL happen, and it's probably not going to be what you , or me, like. I know that blustering and complaining and putting up a brave front sounds neat on a reptile forum, but it ain't gonna happen in real life.

You're going to be dragged kicking and screaming to the front table, and if you can't adapt....well....it may boil down to having some rights or none. The animal rights group was there at the hearing, and as much as I hate those nutcases, they have considerable pull and money. I know people who were there at the hearing, and most of those politicians will bend to the will of the majority, or what "seems" to be the majority. The only thing that saved our butts this time was the letter writing campaign and the grassroots organizing. They complemented our side on that.

The inevitable is that some animals WILL be banned from keeping privately. It WILL happen, there's no doubt. Ask the big cat and primate people.

Reptile people WILL have to compromise, it's that simple. And no, I don't like it either....but the handwriting is on the wall, and it's with permanant marker.

" Reptile people WILL have to compromise, it's that simple. And no, I don't like it either....but the handwriting is on the wall, and it's with permanant marker."

Wrong we will be compromised for. In no way is it dinosaur thinking to recognize the truth . It's not blustering and complaining or putting up a brave front to acknowledge the short comings and self motivations of those who are supposedly negotiating on your behalf. It is foolish to think this negotiating will be done because it was the only way.

" Ask the big cat and primate people."

Private ownership of primates or big cats has not been banned on a federal level. If any do become banned it won't be because the cat and primate people rolled. There's a vast difference between losing a fight and just giving it away. This group of private owners has fought and won many times over the years. They might lose their ownership privileges in the end but not simply because they were sold out.

HR 669 failed because it was impossible to pass as written we have yet to see if our butts are saved.

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM

" It is foolish to think this negotiating will be done because it was the only way. "

Then we are all fools, 'cause that's what's going to happpen.

And when it does, you can remind me that I was right. And I don't like it either, but that won't keep it from happening.

Jaykis,

I understand your "no confidence" position but you are selling us short and America short. The ban against gay marriage was thought to never pass. Four states now allow it. Momentum is building for more states. The legalization of medical marijuana is growing. New Mexico passed it last year. This was unheard of not to long ago. We still have our guns despite the banning agenda of left wing anti-gun activists.

Also, I might add, its nice to see how you have "no confidence" in us but lots of confidence in them. I understand this based on past participation by the herp industry in protecting itself but couldn't we be under going a paradigm shift? Oby estimated that about 3000 herpers responded to HR 669. That is sad compared to all who keep herps but it is more then have participated before. If USARK can continue to build on this we can continue to make progress. We are already banned from keeping certain species and conducting certain activities as it stands now. Ask Georgians' if they can keep corn snakes. And if bans are passed I will certainly not give up and I will try to get them over turned. We can not compromise our principles nor our rights. We may lose some battles but we will not lose the war. We, also, have the Constitution backing us.

What is right is right and what is fair is fair. Radical and unrealistic agendas are always, eventually, defeated. Common sense usually prevails in the end.

Welkerii
El Paso, TX

"Also, I might add, its nice to see how you have "no confidence" in us but lots of confidence in them"

I have no idea how you came up with that statement by reading what I wrote.

Then again, your "agenda" doesn't seem to make sense to me either, so I guess we're even

A little bit of comprehension.The point isn't if happens or not the point is WHY. This might be eluding you. It's not what their doing it's what the major players of the animal trade the are letting them do.

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

"The point isn't if happens or not the point is WHY. This might be eluding you"

It isn't eluding me at all. If you think the why is the problem, not "if", then we're doomed right off the bat. The point is they CAN do what they want, and it WILL happen if nothing is compromised. It may not have to be much, just make sense to the people making the rules. But as I said earlier, if you can't bend in this, they'll break you. And don't think they can't, or that there are people just waiting for that to happen. If we seem to be more reasonable than some of the loony-tune animal rights people, then it goes our way.

Think like a politician, not a herper.

And I'm done with this thread, there doesn't seem to be much point to it if some people aren't capable of "bargaining".

Jaykis,
I would argue we are not "bairgaining" but merely sharing thoughts and oppinions through a civilised discourse in this thread.
I agree with ernie in his point of "why".
In the opposite case of "if", if they really CAN do what they want I would argue they would have done much more, since we know they want MUCH more than what they have achieved so far..
IF we are doomed anyways, we perhaps have a moral duty towards our animals to put up a good fight, in stead of giving in slowly, little by little until none of us responsible private keepers legally exist.
In order to achieve a quick resolution to a conflict, it may be worth in some cases to make compromise. Otherwise, in most cases I don´t see a need to compromise with an enemy who wishes to abolish my animal husbandry.

In respect to reducing risk of invasive species, banning private husbandry of reptiles really does not offer any qualitative improvement.
If HR669 is passed, banning most herps in the US it will only strengthen my argument I think, there is no way of effectively influencing and controlling illegal reptile husbandry.

Any law that is passed concerning reptiles should reflect the interests of reptile keepers and their reptiles, and the environmental sustainability principle. If a law fails to give consideration to any of these three then it is fundamentally flawed to begin with. When a fundamentally flawed law is proposed I don´t see how a compromise from our part will benefit our animals.

Even if herps are banned, some herpetoculturists aren´t broken.
Compromising our right to responsible herpetoculture, in hope to gain public or political consent to keep our animals a little longer, may be a leap into a swamp which may easily take a decade or three to escape.