Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sure the politicians have the power to create laws and ban our pets, but the media sensationalizes ever incident that comes up, and often times fails to report the facts accurately.

The media scares the public, who then go running to the politicians.

So, what say you? Is our biggest problem the politicians, or is it the media? We are already working on the lawmakers with our own campaigns, but what can be done about the press?

My thoughts, we need better PR, but I'm interested in hearing other thoughts on this as well.

They are both your worst enemy. The media is driven by ratings and the politicians are driven by votes and the ends justifies the means in both cases. Both lie for an end result...
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Matt Lerer
Ghi Reptiles

We have met the enemy-and he is us.

Right now our hobby is in deadly, immediate danger of losing EVERY member of the genus Python-thanks in large part to the irresponsible actions of a very few python owners, actions which have led to human deaths and subsequent media and political scrutiny. And some blame. IMO, must also be placed at the feet of those breeders who, for the last three decades, have been less than selective as to how many offspring they have produced, and to whom those offspring were sold.

The media and politicians are behaving exactly as they always do. Why the surprise?
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

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

If we don't start policing ourselves, "outsiders" will do it for us. They already are trying to.

Fighting AGAINST laws is okay, but we also need to show that we are part of the solution but WRITING our own PRO-ACTIVE laws and bills that we then attempt to push through the legislative process.

We can stand up and fight AGAINST something all day, but it sends a MUCH better and bigger message when we start fighting FOR something and showing that we are not the problem, but we theBEST source for and biggest PART of the SOLUTION.
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Stay United!

"...I say 'apparently' because despite all our progress she is not at all a tame or handle-able snake and gettting her from that cage would re-start a war.. and we've had a good armistice for several months now."-Gus Rentfro - I love this quote!

My post is not to insinuate that we are not responsible for our own industry. However, in addition to policing ourselves, we should also be aware of other adversaries that exist.

To say neither the press nor politicians are our enemies is not true. Neither has any fondness for us and the media loves to sensationalize anything involving reptiles.

Perhaps I should have worded my initial message different, but I did not foresee someone taking options A & B and adding C to it.

Now that we have mutually agreed that WE can be our own worst enemy, of the other two, which do you consider to be the larger threat and why?

You use terms like enemy and adversary for two groups that are simply doing their job. First, take the news. Their job is to bring viewers. Do you suggest they not run stories when a child is injured or some dumb-arse gets caught with 60 snakes in his 1 bed-room apartment? Its not like they single snake incidents out...they report on any such event...dog maulings, alligators in bathtubs, tigers in the back yard. Then take your politicians...they too have nothing "against" snake people. What they have is a vested interest in being seen trying to "solve problems". Its how they keep their job. Florida has a genuine ecological disaster on their hands with regard to the feral burmese pythons. Any politician worth his salt is going to want to be seen as part of the solution. How can you blame them?

In short...neither is out to get us...neither is our adversary. Their simply both in it for their own interests. It still comes back to the central issue, which is irresponsible owners.

Christ! Can we split this hair a little finer? Really? No seriously, really?

You are right...I was wrong...The press never gets their facts wrong. The politicians never bend to popular opinion, or let the publics' fear sway their decisions. They wouldn't dare create laws against a small segment of the population just to appease public will.

Everyone does their research before they jump to a conclusion.

The burm that was reported 12 ft, then 8 ft...Well it probably just shrunk a little. Ball pythons are gonna eat your children and then your dog.I hear a kenyan sand boa scaled the Empire State Building the other day, with a blond in its coils. Glad the press always gets the facts right. Glad to know the politicians did their homework.

Adversaries? What was I thinking...They're our best friends!! It is a real shame that others don't have a popular hobby like those of us who keep reptiles. Glad we don't have to worry about overcoming fear, prejudice and having someone play those fears for their own ends.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride...No worries here...Everyone loves us.

The press gets facts wrong on every issue. Really man, get over yourself. Show me one article where they imply a ball python will eat your children or any of that other nonsense you posted. Your attitude is really part of the problem. You're so desperate to blame some blameless party, and refuse to place the blame where blame is due. "Oh poor us persecuted snake folks"...get real...

*chuckle* *sneeze* *cough*

Did I leave out any other bodily noise you would like to include in this conversation? None are really relevant, but they do go well with your snide behavior. Oh, and if this topic bores you, please feel free to move on...Really. No, really.

I sure am glad you're here to post the facts, which discredit our poorly thought opinions. Why if you were here to give us the benefit of your wisdom, we may not be forced to see the light...

You thought I was serious about the kenyan sand boa thing, eh? Or, was it more convenient to belittle the statement to make your point?

Especially when a politician has the media wrapped around his finger.

I posted yesterday and my post got pulled for some reason, so I'll be *extra* careful to not offend here. The problem isn't the media. Its not politicians. They're both responding appropriately considering the fact that they don't know any better. The one, and only reason this is an issue now is terrible, ignorant owners. Period.

If toddlers and other people weren't routinely being hurt....if the everglades weren't literally crawling with burmese pythons, and if people weren't repeatedly being caught housing large numbers of snakes in areas where they're not permitted...well, there would be no issue at all.

If toddlers and other people weren't routinely being hurt....if the everglades weren't literally crawling with burmese pythons, and if people weren't repeatedly being caught housing large numbers of snakes in areas where they're not permitted...well, there would be no issue at all "

The truth is .......................The reason people get caught housing ( large numbers of snakes in areas where they're not permitted ) is because of the flood of knee jerk reaction laws being passed based on misguided propaganda such as what you just posted.

People taking isolated incidences and feeding into the hype.

If you take all the numbers and look at them objectively. Put these numbers against the documented insistences......................... in a factual manor.............

The reptile trade has been incredibly problem free over the years. The only way these numbers could be improved on would be to impose serious trade restrictions. The finger pointers had better start supporting the truth as opposed to adding to the misinformation.

The real problem is the people who use hype and propaganda to exploit others for personal gain. Activist groups make their living from exploiting NON Issues, Politicians want in on the money and attention these groups generate, the media wants a story that sells.

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

I'm not getting any "misrepresentation" aspect at all. None.

your quote:

The article I'm referring to was on CNN.com yesterday, and the owner admitted in the article that he didn't know it was against the towns code. He moved in to a small apartment with 20 snakes and didn't bother to investigate whether or not he was breaking the law. That 100% on him, the owner.

The owner who's python killed his girlfriend's 2 year old daughter is 100% to blame for that story surfacing and the damage it has done.

These, to nearly everyone, ARE sensational stories. Should the media not report them??? Of course they should. They're news. If these irresponsible owners would do their part, there wouldn't be any news.

In the minds of those who are already against us, your efforts to downplay any events and sweep them under the rug are just as damaging to the hobby as the events themselves...

After the words "your quote:" the following excerpt from you original post was omitted:

"The truth is .......................The reason people get caught housing ( large numbers of snakes in areas where they're not permitted ) is because of the flood of knee jerk reaction laws being passed based on misguided propaganda such as what you just posted."

" If toddlers and other people weren't routinely being hurt...."

I'm not down playing anything . Its putting things into real life perspective. There is a major difference.

The only thing getting swept under the rug is the facts. And the fear mongers are holding the broom. The disregard of the facts been the most damaging thing to the "hobby " To bad some people can`t see this. Instead they prefer to add to the misnomers.

The incident involving the little girl was very sad . It was also the first of its kind in the history of the state of Florida. Overall It was only the second time in US history that a fatality involving someone under the age of 14 has occurred in the US. I would say calling these types of incidents routine is misleading and feeding into the hype and fear mongering.

This whole thing reminds me of the Brittany Spears escapade . Everything gets so hyped up and completely blown out proportion.

The realty is snakes have as much meaningful effect on the day to day to lives of 99.9 percent of the people living in the US as the Brittany Spears debacle .

More people blowing things out of proportion is the last thing needed , real life perspective needs to be brought to the surface.

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

As a member of the media (I'm a newspaper editor) and a reptile owner and breeder, I have to say that the problem is not with the media nor the politicians (though most need to be educated on the realities of responsible herp ownership).

Someone said it before me: The problem is PR and the bad PR (animals being dumped in the Everglades, people being hurt or killed by dangerous pets, or people keeping too many animals) is what resonates with people because it is scary.

You have to admit that keeping reptiles of any kind or number is a bit different. The cry of herp owners to be treated like anyone else is naive. Guess what? You keep snakes or lizards or frogs and turtles that most people think are scary or gross critters. I kind of feel that way about large spiders. The point is, if you want people to treat you and your hobby with respect and that hobby is a little off the path of what most people consider normal, the onus is on you and me and every other reptile keeper to show that we are responsible, our pets are not dangerous and we have no intention nor risk of damaging the environment.

To say that this is not fair is like a firefighter thinking flames have it in for him. It's the path we've chosen and if we don't want to lose our rights to keep animals we love we need to be proactive about educating the public and the politicians and the media about responsible ownership.

There are bad apples out there and they do an incredible amount of damage to our hobby, and for some, businesses. When bad things happen, the media has a responsibility to inform the public about news. But it's a two-way street. When people open businesses or make scientific discoveries in the herp world, the media reports on those too. And when herp keepers bring their pets to schools for kids to see and to give talks on responsible pet ownership, the media is there too to take pictures or write short stories.

We have opportunities every day to educate strangers about our hobby.

Rob Haneisen

" The problem is PR and the bad PR (animals being dumped in the Everglades, people being hurt or killed by dangerous pets, or people keeping too many animals) is what resonates with people because it is scary. "

And where did you get your information. Exactly. When you include the facts and tell the whole story its not so scary. Why does the media lean so heavily on pushing the scary stuff ?

For the media its all about creating a buzz . Brittany Spears is the perfect example. Why was she dominating the headlines for so long , what was she doing that was so important in our society that every news outlet in the US was making her the Headline story. Why was every little thing she did blown so far out of proportion ? She was selling. It was never about fulfilling any responsibility to present the news. It was about the exploitation of situation to help sell the media's product.

Right now scary snakes are selling. And the media is treating reptiles just like they treated Brittany spears.

Your right its only a FEW bad apples . Reptile related incidents effect virtually no one in the US. But that's never how its portrayed. Its pushed as being a something we all need to fear. WHY ?

The few bad incidents make all the headlines because that what sells. Its not about just telling the story its about presentation. When a new business opens the story gets buried on page 14 with all the miscellaneous crap. On the other hand GIANT PYTHONS ATTACK AMERICA is on the front page . Get the snow ball rolling. Then just like with Brittany every little thing becomes headline news.

The media has clearly fueled the anti ownership fire with one over the top story after another . Story's that feature blatant lies , scare tactics , misinformation , and taking situations completely out of context all in the name of selling. The self serving media's wiliness to make mountains out of mole hills and create a massive bandwagon has played a MAJOR role in the problems the industry now faces. Anti ownership factions love to create story's about monsters and nightmares and media eats them up. Its match made in Heaven and nether one is about to let the truth get in the way.

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

Get your head out of the sand man...You completely disregard the very real negative impact. The issues are scary because they are scary, not because the media says so.

You're right on. The attitude of the two "media blamers" in this thread is as harmful to the hobby as the idiots that have gotten us into the mess to begin with. Sad really...

The real worst enemy is an entire generation of people that think it perfectly acceptable to legislate their personal opinion all the while trampling the rights of individuals nationwide.

From laws regulating smoking INSIDE ONE OWN HOME, to regulations for the purchase of a firearm, to the pets we keep, to safety factor of the vehicles we drive (my old man had a 55MPG car in 1980 where are they now?), to helmet laws, to your bong, to your wallet, to your choice of doctors (coming soon)............

This country was started on the concept of personal liberty. The only people thhat have freedom now are the lawmakers. Freedom to squash the citizens.

Thomas Jefferson is rolling in his tomb.
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AMAZON REPTILE CENTER