Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In yet another attack on the reptile community, today Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will look to list the "Big 9" from the USGS survey published in October on the Lacey Act as injurious species:

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will propose to list the Burmese python and eight other large constrictor snakes that threaten the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems as "injurious wildlife" under the Lacey Act.

Salazar made the announcement at the Port of New York, which serves as the largest point of entry in the nation for imports of wildlife and wildlife products. Last year, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inspectors at John F. Kennedy International Airport handled more than 27, 000 separate wildlife shipments valued at more than $1 billion, or 16 percent of all U.S. wildlife imports.

The proposal, which will be open to public comment before Salazar makes a final decision, would prohibit importation and interstate transportation of the animals.

"The Burmese python and these other alien snakes are destroying some of our nation’s most treasured – and most fragile – ecosystems," Salazar said. "The Interior Department and states such as Florida are taking swift and common sense action to control and eliminate the populations of these snakes, but it is an uphill battle in ecosystems where they have no natural predators. If we are going to succeed, we must shut down the importation of the snakes and end the interstate commerce and transportation of them."

This allows us yet another opportunity to refute the bad science involved with both HR2811 and S373. The FWS will publish the proposed rule change in the federal register in early February.

Once it's published, the public will have sixty days to offer comment, after which the waiting game begins again.

As soon as the comment period opens, we'll let you know what action to take, and where.

Even now, it's not too late -- or too early! -- to make calls, reach out to your senators and representatives. Let them know this proposal is based on bad science, that you're part of the reptile community and that you vote!
Fish & Wildlife to add pythons to Lacey act

-----
Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
Email Cindy
Visit kingsnake on Facebook!
Follow Kingsnake on Twitter!

Sounds like it is a foregone conclusion that these snakes are going to be added to the injurious species list no matter what happens with pending legislation.

How do you fight this?

The bureaucrats are making decisions and there is nothing we can do about it.

No discussion whatsoever about peoples' personal property being taken away, reimbursement for confiscated animals, nothing.

Doesn't sound like the effort being put out to stop pending legislation is going to do diddly squat because the government is just going to do what it wants to do anyway.

Oh yea, the proposed rule is going to be published in the federal register. Big Deal!!

>>Sounds like it is a foregone conclusion that these snakes are going to be added to the injurious species list no matter what happens with pending legislation.
>>
>>How do you fight this?
>>
>>The bureaucrats are making decisions and there is nothing we can do about it.
>>
>>No discussion whatsoever about peoples' personal property being taken away, reimbursement for confiscated animals, nothing.
>>
>>Doesn't sound like the effort being put out to stop pending legislation is going to do diddly squat because the government is just going to do what it wants to do anyway.
>>
>>Oh yea, the proposed rule is going to be published in the federal register. Big Deal!!

These are all wonderful questions. And right now many of the leaders in the reptile community are formulating an attack against this. Once it is published we again have to take the steps to speak out. While this is specific to 9 species now, it is only a matter of time before it can move forward.
-----
Cindy Steinle
phfaust@pethobbyist.com
PHFaust
Visit kingsnake on Facebook!
Follow Kingsnake on Twitter!

It's a lot more than 9 species. Listing the Boa Constrictor without a subspecies covers ALL of the Boa Constrictor species which is a lot more than 1 species.
-----
Tim Cole
www.austinherpsociety.org
www.AustinReptileExpo.com/
www.AustinReptileService.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
Conservation through Education

Yeah Tim. Kinda like Texas P&W did with the turtles. Huh.
jsc
-----
"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

How about a reply to Ken Salazar from Andrew Wyatt (USARK) or the attorney from (PIJAC) along the lines of:

I find it totally irresponsible that a government official would hold a press conference at the NY Port Authority at my expense, as a taxpayer, that the US Government is willing to ban imports of large constrictors and ban the interstate trade of these species because one State, Florida, might have a problem with Burmese Pythons in the Everglades.

The Obama Administration apparently supports the inclusion of these snakes under the Lacey Act.

I guess the government doesn't understand that the political upset that occurred in Massachusetts is the direct result of practices like this where the government is trampling the rights of responsible taxpaying citizens at the expense of supporting the fringe element in our society that wants everything for nothing.

Let's call on our republican representatives to take the lead in condeming these czarist practices by the current administration (federal government) to control our lives.

USARK and PIJAC, I believe should have anticipated this government action a long time ago, when this controversy, started and taken action. These organizations need to start addressing the real issues such as the banning of trade etc. in reptiles in states like New York and Pennsylvania.

When States pass illegal laws, these laws need to be challenged. We have to stop being totally reactionary in our approach to our Rights Issues as we have been regarding this snake ban issue.

Letters to representatives using the above arguments together with economic arguments might have an impact.

would it help us to try and get Rush Limbaugh invoved? One call could get him going

I'm not sure Rush would be of ANY help. The conservative media (mostly Fox) has laughed us off. Rush would do the same.