Hello all. I used to have a fairly large collection of boas/pythons. While I have very few animals now, I am still very interested in S373 and what it would mean for our hobby.
As I've watched this develop, one thing seems very obvious. The "reptile nation" needs a public forum. It seems like it would be very reasonable to organize a group of people to protest on the steps of the Capital. If a small % of the people who keep boas and pythons were to get together, the # of people would be in the thousands.
This would call attention to the issue and put it on the "public stage" so-to-speak.
It is important to emphasize how many jobs will be lost if this were to pass as written. While we cannot minimize the impact that burmese are having on the fauna in Florida, at the same time make it clear how that is an unfortunate "local" problem. Also emphasize the reports that have come out subsequent to that initial report of the burmese expansion.
We're very close to the mid-term congressional elections. It seems like it shouldn't be hard to find every congressman who will be up for re-election and enlist their "help". With the economy being what it is, with healthcare blowing up, these guys can't afford to turn away a single vote. I think that if this is made public, if USARK or PIJAC have well-considered representatives on the news this bill will either fail completely or will be modified tremendously. Needless to say, the congressman ought to have "more important" things to consider.
With time running short, no action is too drastic. My $0.02.
