I would like to ask everyone participating on this board to take a few minutes to reflect on the challenges we face with regards to pending State and Federal legislation. We have much to loose; a $3 billion a year industry, our pets, and a unique opportunity to help bring about better exposure to science and herpetology to our communities utilizing these magnificent constrictors.
If we take a moment and identify who is aligned against us, and their agenda, then we can start to identify the arguments with which they are using to take our property and our rights away. Either intentionally or unintentionally, our threads have been stuck from time to time on how irresponsible the python community is. We recently had a member try and claim that the large constrictor hobbyists have ruined it for colubrid hobbyists. While it is important to own these negative things about our community we should never shy away from pointing out all the positive things we do. We have representatives from the scientific community that are working tirelessly to provide the USGS with substantive research that will play a significant role in the outcomes of these debates. I am glad that Mike Rochford is here, and I am encouraged that he will have an opportunity to see first hand what we are all about and what can be lost if the ban comes into place. I am sure we have aids from the various state and federal legislator communities checking in from time to time too. So please ask your selves how do our current discussions appear and how can they be used against us? I’m not advocating being exclusive or rude, just be aware of who/what is lurking about. Address the negative issues with honesty, but also provide solutions, show the good things that we have done as well. When the science is questionable, stick to the facts and demand that our public dollar be used for research that is objective and of the highest quality. When the science is good do not dismiss it, it is what it is. Never be afraid to call BS on something that doesn’t look or sound right, common sense still trumps a PhD. When we argue amongst ourselves ask what underlying themes are being pushed and if they will, or are being used to divide us.
