Reptile & Amphibian Forums

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/support_sb_373_hr_2811-ban_monstrous_sized_snakes_to_protect_enviroment_safety

...makes you sick dosent it?...

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1.0 c.b.02' 7' Pastel Colombian Boa(thanks Bill!)"Maverick"
0.1 c.b.06' 6' Firebelly x Pastel boa "Betty Boa"
0.1 c.b. 07 5' Amazon Basin Redtail Boa"Lola Boa"1.0 c.b. 05 6' Blonde Bullsnake "Boo"
1.0 c.b. 05'2' Snow Corn "Zero"
1.0 wc 4' Fl.Cornsnake "Iggy"
0.1 cb 18"Okeetee Cornsnake "Bella"

Actually, the one on the second page is in our favor.

Not quite anti-herp, but it does show that they'll use near anything/one for messaging.

http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrities/2010/05/19/14011411.html
Octomom

...she wishes someone wouldve spayed HER?...lol...
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1.0 c.b.02' 7' Pastel Colombian Boa(thanks Bill!)"Maverick"
0.1 c.b.06' 6' Firebelly x Pastel boa "Betty Boa"
0.1 c.b. 07 5' Amazon Basin Redtail Boa"Lola Boa"1.0 c.b. 05 6' Blonde Bullsnake "Boo"
1.0 c.b. 05'2' Snow Corn "Zero"
1.0 wc 4' Fl.Cornsnake "Iggy"
0.1 cb 18"Okeetee Cornsnake "Bella"

I can't believe the slander being put out here. This kind of crap should get the people behind this sued or charged with a crime. I feel that anytime anyone uses this kind of false representation to get people to sign to support a law they should be held legally responsible for deliberately misleading people.
To me it is never moral or OK to misrepresent the truth and especially not OK to do it to cause harm to any other person or group of people.
Although I do not keep any reptiles anymore at this time due to the laws that got past in TX on keeping box turtles I still support reptile/animal keepers. They used misrepresentation to drum up signatures for the box turtle laws to get passed here in TX. It is surprising that they got a lot of the reptile people to believe that going against box turtle keepers was a good conservation measure. In fact none of the laws put forth really do anything to save box turtles in the wild half as much as the laws shut down captive breeding of box turtles. No land was set aside to preserve the turtles and development and fire ants and other factors continue to cause there decline anyway. In the end it is easy to make up crap and get people to go after you. I have kept many species of reptiles over the years. They are kept as residents rather than captives. I take there lives very seriously. In 33 years of field collecting (I release most of it and keep very little) I have never collected a place out of anything. But I have seen lots of development move in a wipe places out over those years. The thing that hurts me most here is that I care very much about the animals I keep. To have to hear people saying bad things about you that are not true is hard enough, but to have the government siding with them with my money is in no way moral or acceptable to me. I put the animals I keep first before myself as they are my responsibility.
I have never and never have heard of anyone masturbating while feeding any of there animals. Who ever wrote this crap is real sick in the head!
This to me shows just how mentally ill these people behind the AR stuff really are.
What is really sad to me is to see that the government rather on a City, State or Federal level is taking there side and using our tax money to go after us in any way. It just makes me want to puke.

I said a long time ago you guys need to be more aggressive about your approach to this. All animal keepers need to start banning together. Yes I know that is easier said than done. But you don't get anywhere by not trying. My Mom always used to tell me "Can't never could, and didn't never did."

Maybe reptile keepers need to plan some protest. If done right it should at least help get public awareness up and our side of the story out to the public. You need to get a "Jump all over them mentality" when they put crap out there like this. They can't win with the truth so they are using lies instead. This kind of misrepresenting the facts to the public to trick them into signing a petition should be illegal. It is at least fraud and someone should get charged for it. If this is aloud what kind of president does it set?
Just because they are pricking on snake collectors doesn't make it OK to commit fraud. Eric
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Noah was the first snake collector. ~Eric~

Any concerned American citizen should protest this slander and misrepresentation, not just reptile keepers. In fact, imo keeping this as a "herp community"-only issue might actually be hurting our cause, since it makes it look like a herp issue, which makes it look like a "special interest" agenda on our part. It's not a herp issue , it's really a civil rights and Constitutional issue. Until we get non-reptile people to understand what's going on here, we will have a tough time making much progress. Just my 2 cents.

You said it brother...in a nutshell.
Shameful the way turtle people got thrown under the bus...and for what? Are we any better off now?
Some huge egos, along with some misguided self-righteous naiveté.
Live and learn. Hopefully things are on a better course now.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

I agree with all that was said by you guys. They probably did not do themselves any favors by showing there true nutty colors. But it looks a little like some of them are trying to use a tactic of making reptile keepers look like sex offenders or something. They probably figure it will cause the general public to react first and think latter if at all.
The thing is it may even work to some extent. As fruity as we know this stuff is we can't expect everyone else to know. Don't give the general public too much credit.
That being said this is a good piece of evidence for us to use. I would take this crap and use it to show those in charge what they have been really supporting when they support the agenda these nut job groups put forth.

To JSC thanks for the kind words. It means more than you think. I have given up on turtles. But I have kept and breed snakes and lizards in the past too. I am thinking about going back into snake keeping.
It is a passion and is in the blood. We just all need to stick together now and do all we can to fight this.
What they are doing to us is bad in every way. What we do with reptiles is a good thing and I know this with all of my heart. If you love something you will fight for it with all you have. This is why there is a Native American warrior society called the "Strong Hearts". To me this has become about much more than just keeping animals. It has got to the point of being sickening and saddening on every level.
I am just telling you guys no matter what they say about you or do to you, never give up the fight!
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Noah was the first snake collector. ~Eric~

n/p
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1.0 c.b.02' 7' Pastel Colombian Boa(thanks Bill!)"Maverick"
0.1 c.b.06' 6' Firebelly x Pastel boa "Betty Boa"
0.1 c.b. 07 5' Amazon Basin Redtail Boa"Lola Boa"1.0 c.b. 05 6' Blonde Bullsnake "Boo"
1.0 c.b. 05'2' Snow Corn "Zero"
1.0 wc 4' Fl.Cornsnake "Iggy"
0.1 cb 18"Okeetee Cornsnake "Bella"

Personally, I think whoever wrote that did themselves more harm than good to any rational person. The part about killing while masturbating just shows them to be the lunatic fringe to anyone in the gov't that reads it.

jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer