Another news cast about FL and exotics

[Kinra]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...iref=allsearch

It doesn't seem too negative but at the same time it's really not positive... :/

[Salodin]

It's not supposed to be positive, non-native reptiles are a big problem down here. It's not the hobbys fault though, it's public awareness and irresponsibility from people who want a "cool snake", but aren't prepared for what that entails.

[Kinra]

It's not supposed to be positive, non-native reptiles are a big problem down here. It's not the hobbys fault though, it's public awareness and irresponsibility from people who want a "cool snake", but aren't prepared for what that entails.

I wasn't trying to say that invasive species are good and should be shown in a positive light. What I was trying to say was most of the news casts about Florida and the problem show the entire industry very negatively. I live in Wisconsin, if any of my ball pythons got out side there would be zero chance of them surviving winter and becoming a real problem. Most of the news casts make it seem like what is happening in Florida can happen anywhere.

[Salodin]

It doesn't help how the owner of that business came off as a real jerk. I agree though that if some one takes it at face value, it does a lot more harm then good about educating the public and raising awareness.

[Kinra]

Yeah, that owner has some real problems if he has that many escaped animals around his store and he could have handled the situation a lot better.

Most people who don't keep reptiles and some that aren't very experienced will take it at face value. The thing I really liked about it though was that they openly admitted that they don't currently know what impact these reptiles will have on the native environment and only time will tell.

[Salodin]

Right. It obviously isn't a good impact, but not giving a doomsday scenario when we really don't know what will happen is better imo.

[Anatopism]

The primary cause of the burmese python problem in the everglades has been traced back to a hurricane, and not private ownership by individual hobbyists. Regulations and bans on entire family of reptiles due to irresponsible business practices like those seen in the video, or hurricane damage due to an improperly constructed facility, does nothing but harm the individual hobbyist who is responsible about pet ownership.

What I don't like about the video is that they start off by referring to the ball python they found as "one of many dangerous animals". Ball python? dangerous? Maybe to local wildlife if a population grabs hold in the area, but I'm tired of fear based media, and "scientific papers" (intentionally in quotes) stating that animals like the burmese python could thrive in areas as far as Oregon. I'm tired of the general masses being so blinded by irrational thought, that laws must be enforced on the responsible hobbyist.

[llovelace]

Well if anyone wants a free reptile they can go scout outside that facility for one

[Salodin]

Dude, i was watching that going "well shoot, why did i pay good money for my bp? Free ones running all over the outside of that building!".

I was waiting for him to find a spider or pied outside, you would have seen half this forum take a day off and camp outside that building lmao.

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