Is there a Breeder Association? Do you guys think regulation is necessary?

But there already is something similar to that. Fauna Classifieds offers 'good guy certifications' that you can post on your site. If there are complaints, your certification is revoked.
Fauna's BOI serves as an area for people to relate their good or bad experiences with specific sellers. (It's got flaws, but it does function, and I wouldn't buy from someone without checking for them there first).

The owner of Fauna is a retired snake breeder.

I would like to see a central site post current pricing suggestions for various morphs. No one is obligated to actually use them, but it would help newbies set up fair pricing, rather than guessing at it or trying to compile estimates from prices on various sites. I do not believe that would constitute price-fixing, since no one would be obligated to use the posted prices.

The BIGGEST problem I can see with setting up a central ball python breeder registry (or whatever) is...
Who's going to run it? That would require a HUGE investment of time and money.

I like the idea, I just don't think it is something that is do-able in our industry.

For the purpose of fighting legislation against our hobby we have USARK and EVERY breeder and keeper of any type of reptile should already be a member of it.

On the reputable association part of the argument. How will the association decide if someone is reputable? Just because they paid to join and carry a card? I'm sorry but that doesn't cut it for me. It seems like an easy way for some one to gain a reputation. Instead of doing what everyone else has done and put in the time at the shows and on the forums, breed the nicest animals you can get your hands on and be there for people when they have questions.

Another issue, most people who breed balls or other herps don't have huge buildings on property that their animals live in. They breed out of their garage, spare room, shed, basement, closet ect. And in some cases even though they are not breaking any laws if their neighbors found out their lives would be disrupted at best. With the public feelings towards herps being what they are I can't see allot of home breeders lining up to register their home/breeding address with an association.

Plus (this one is just me thinking out loud) why would any big name breeder who already has a great rep want to be part of an association that any little breeder could join? This would take away one of their perceived advantages in the sales department? Also have you EVER seen a more diverse, and outspoken group of individuals than herp breeders? How will you bring that together?

I just don't know that their is a short cut that can be taken to get a good rep. Plus who hasn't seen a "Good Guy" go "bad"? All you have to do is browse the BOI and unfortunately their are plenty examples to read through.

However in a more loose way I do think their should be industry standards on sales and breeding. Like not selling animals before they hatch and begin eating. No more then X gen of line breeding before new blood should be brought into the line. Culling deformed animals from the gene pool. Will their be people that don't adhere to industry standards? Sure but that is where being reputable comes in.

I don't know I could go on all day. I see the benefit but I also think the very nature of herp breeding fights against an organised formal association.

If you think you're going to get all breeders to abide by one set of rules, you're sadly mistaken. How many snakes would a breeder have to breed before he's considered for inclusion to this club? If you think that a small time breeder (which is probably about 85% of the hobby) is going to abide by the rules made by a breeder's group, I've got some land in Florida I'd like to sell ya.

Having a breeders club, one that would dictate price isn't going to work either. Different regions in the US can sell the smae snake for a different price.

What about a variant of one more? Do you then have to have prices set for high white pieds, medium white pieds and low white Pieds? Who would then rate that snake to determine which classification to sell it. What about Pastels? How would you rate these and more importantly price them? High White Spiders? See where I'm going here?

A jockey's club works because there's only a few venues (race tracks). There are way too many variables in any breeding business for this to work.

If it were possible to get something like this pssed, the American Kennel Club would have done it. All they do is ensure the breed remains pure.

Jim Smith

The other issue with this is in the examples you brought up (dog breeders and horse breeders) they have written standards that people breed their animals to conform to. Dogs are different breeds, each breed has a standard, each breeder (should be) doing things to test their dogs (temperament, confirmation, form, etc).

With snakes, ball pythons specifically, every ball python morph is still a ball python (please exclude hybrids for the sake of this discussion). Morphs are variable and we still don't understand the genetics behind a lot of this. New stuff is getting discovered every day. Lets take piebalds, low whites can produce high whites and vise versa. What would the pied standard be? How would people conform to it? It really just isn't applicable to a hobby or industry like this.

The good guys and the big guys have their reputations because they've worked for them (for the most part). People know certain breeders do research with the animals they breed and collect data. Others are trying to figure out how the genetics work etc.

I just feel that this industry is too broad to have a standard on animals you can't really standardize. Other points were brought up by other posters--how to implement something like this, what would the standards be? who can join? who can not join? etc.

Excellent thought, but not likely to become reality.

There are a lot of good folks out there. There are also a lot of scumbags. Until the scumbag filter is perfected, they'll get in anything organized. Anything that has rules and regulations and people who want to give those scumbags another chance for the 10th time, is not something I'd be willing to be part of.

Plus, the idea of someone telling me that I should sell this morph for that price, and I'm assuming that were I a member who went against the grain I would not be a member for long (unless I was a crybaby and loud about it, thereby getting those repeated chances to screw up).

And frankly, the trust necessary to make something like that work is not something I'd be willing to give nor believe I was actually getting from most folks.

Build your reputation by being a good honest breeder.

Have you checked out the blbc? They LOVE this kind of talk.