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!
USF&W to add "Big 9" to Lacey Act

-----
Cindy Steinle
phfaust@pethobbyist.com
PHFaust
Visit kingsnake on Facebook!
Follow Kingsnake on Twitter!

These things lay almost 100 eggs at a time. Why in the hell are they still being imported?
-----
Josh Loehr

>>These things lay almost 100 eggs at a time. Why in the hell are they still being imported?
>>-----
>>Josh Loehr

I agree.....
Hell we can't even get a freakin Mexican King imported across the border that's only a few hours away from their habitats......lol
-----
John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

don't be cryin' when they shut down all imports, need to stick together on this, whether you keep them or not, how quick are we to jump on a "Laredo" line, or want badly to add a recently acquired "import" into our colonies? i agree that we probably have enough of most of the big 9 here to do us right but would still like the right to import one if I wanted to. I agree that we need to talk Mexico into letting us go on a safari though!

-----
Todd Hughes

>>don't be cryin' when they shut down all imports, need to stick together on this, whether you keep them or not, how quick are we to jump on a "Laredo" line, or want badly to add a recently acquired "import" into our colonies? i agree that we probably have enough of most of the big 9 here to do us right but would still like the right to import one if I wanted to. I agree that we need to talk Mexico into letting us go on a safari though!
>>
>>
>>-----
>>Todd Hughes

Yes Todd....You know we have done our part....sent our letters, faxes and made phone calls.......It's up to the politicians....

I even changed that those form letters to agree to allow importation...So I am not against it.....Due to the fact we need to import kingsnakes from Mexico (my own personal agenda)....LOL

BTW...I was just agreeing with the statement Josh made.....
-----
John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

I know, I just wanted to remind people that don't care about those species, or can't work with them because of laws already in place like you and I have "enjoyed" for 30 years, that when the fight comes to our door, we will need allies, enemy of my enemy, so to speak.
-----
Todd Hughes

>>>>>I know, I just wanted to remind people that don't care about those species, or can't work with them because of laws already in place like you and I have "enjoyed" for 30 years, that when the fight comes to our door, we will need allies, enemy of my enemy, so to speak.

I keep burms and I keep bci and bcc.
I don't breed them, but I do enjoy them on a personal level.
I dont want to see any of them go.
I also beleive this is all of our fight, they won't stop at the 9.


-----
Michelle
www.AssortedSerpents.com
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

The 'big 9' includes boa constrictors. Boa constrictor ssp. include many small forms such as Hogg Isles, Crawl Key, Tarahumara and other localities that only grow to about 4 to 8 feet long. Boas don't pose any threat of becoming established in all but maybe 10% of the United States and they should not be part of a national ban.

Really none of them should be banned. Yes if they are potentially dangerous to humans, require permits. Yes if the are potentially invasive in a particular region, place controls or restrictions on them but nationwide bans are not needed.

Beware because PETA would like all our herps banned for potentially carrying Salmonella sp., E. coli, etc. Doesn't matter that even fruits and veggies carry them too.

Aaron,

I agree man...This is another "brick" in the wall that they are constructing to regulate "trade" which in this case happend to be reptiles (animals that we love working with). As with ALL of these regualtions, they start small and then expand...An example of this is the Lacey Act that has been revised many over decades to the point where a US citizen can be prosecuted in the US based on FOREIGN LAW! What a travesty! CITES came about as a result of a few legal cases to close the loop holes to make prosecutions easier for the FWS and continues to "evolve" as well.

If anyone thinks that this is the end, you are mistaken! Once this (S.373) becomes law, all they have to do in a few years (if that long) is simply amend the EXISTING law and viola, more animal criminals! HSUS, PETA, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, the Defenders of Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, etc, contribute millions of dollars to elect "animal rights activists" to congress...IT IS A BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY for all of them via tax payer funded grants, grants from private foundations, tax deductible donations from private business, etc, etc, etc.

The senior "staff" of these organizations make six figure incomes from this BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY! These organizations also serve as jobs for some of the retired federal bureaucrats who go to work for some of these organizations so that in addition to their tax payer funded retirement pensions, they are also paid for doing this...KEEP THIS IN MIND, THIS IS ALL THEY DO!!!!!!

This agenda is about two things...MONEY and POWER so everybody had better pay attention to this stuff. The agenda is even spreading to the state levels now outside of Florida. One of the reasons for this is because ALL of the states (your state too) have adopted the federal conservation plans from the Secretary of the Interior because there are "strings attached" to the federal wildlife grants and programs to the states.

Later,
Jim.
-----
CSRAJim

The attitude of "I don't keep these animals, so I do not care what happens to them" is very short sghted to say the least. Facts are that eventually the powers that be will get around to your collection and/or pets if things are not handled in a timely and correct manner.

A lot of the general public hates to even see snakes in a movie and have a negative conotation of anything associated with them. So a heads on fight for public opinion is many times doomed to failure.

Around the contry we have seen over the last few years a number of laws go into effect that restrict and hamper the ability of law abiding citizens to keep a number of types of reptiles and animals.

Personally I choose to not sell burmese, anacondas, venomous etc etc. But I personally will be glad to spend time and money to make sure others have the right to if that is what they decide to do.

A common sense approach to all of this type stuff is never even considered in my opinion by the powers that be. Things such as posting a bond and/or licensing, inspection of facilities etc etc. for animals that can truly be possibly injurious to the public welfare. Could and should be considered as versus a total ban which is always the first consideration they come up with.

In effect the passing of this listing will severely curtail and impact the hobby as none we have seen before with the exception of the Lacey Act itself. And that law has real teth and is used in the majority of the FWS cases etc.

The next step I have been told will be banning of all inter-national importation and interstate transportation of any alien or by state non-indigenious species.

I bet that would hit a lot of you right where it would hurt, I know it would me in my collection.

Bottom line we either will win this situation as a hobby or lose it and have to wait till the other shoe drops on all of us in the future.
Cherryville Farms