Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I haven`t been on here for a while, too many other commitments at the moment.

First off I have to say that I am gutted to hear about the NY ban and unfortunately we all know that its not long before the snowball effect starts, where more and more states will join in.

Well here`s a suggestion to ALL exotic animal owners to possibly help fight against the bans.

I live in Scotland and here the whole R.S.P.C.A campaign is flaring up and it annoys the hell out of me with their backwards reasoning for justifying the ban. It is an old saying that "Dont tell me, Show me" In other words, no petitions or demonstrations are ever going to change their minds(my $0.02), so I have taken on this idea, to show them that I am a responsible pet owner and I encourage everyone I know to follow!!

WHERE PRACTICALLY POSSIBLE GET YOUR EXOTICS MICRO-CHIPPED!!!!

At the end of the day the ban is not for the animals welfare, dont care what anyone says, if that were true then they would no be euthanised, the ban is to protect the general public from blood thirsty escaped giant pythons!!!!!(B.S i know) So if we SHOW them that all our exotics can be traced to an owner that can be held accountable, if they escaped, then the punishment of fines, confiscations, jail and bans can be imposed on that person! The other side of the coin is that not everyone will do this, but that works better for us, the responsible owners, it allows the R.S.P.C.A`s of the world to concentrate on the negligent and leave the rest of us alone.

I dont think that anyone would disagree with spending a small one off payment to get there animals chipped rather than an ongoing liscince for them.

This may not be the answer that solves the problem but in my opinion, it can go a long way to SHOWING them that we ARE caring for our exotics responsibly

Any opinions are welcome

Merry Xmas

Phil

1.0 Albino Burmese
0.1 Burmese

Phil, I think your idea is a good one; in fact, I have made that same recommendation to our state (IL). I am in full support of microchips, licenses/permits, whatever it takes to legitamize our hobby and allow us to be fully protected by the law (in my case, I am curator of a wildlife center so I am protected but I don't want to see any of my friends' rights taken away). Unfortunately, no matter how many safeguards you instill into this system, you will have the bad apples who will be too cheap to pay the necessary fees to have it done right. And guess what? These are the same idiots who will do something stupid and make headlines thus adding fuel to the fire. With the NY ban, it will only be a matter of time before other states jump on the bandwagon. That is why it is so important for the ENTIRE herp community to get involved, get to know their local representatives, policitians, etc. We need to better understand the processes and, in my opinion, form a nationwide organization (like PETA...but on the other end of the spectrum) that can carry some clout behind it. There are no easy answers but responsible ownership goes a long way to change people's perceptions.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL