Dear Mr. Williams:



Thank you for sharing your concerns about invasive species and Senator Bill Nelson's bill, S. 373. I have worked hard to reduce the destructive impact of invasive species on the environment while being considerate of personal rights of responsible exotic animal owners and breeders.



I sympathize with your concerns regarding restrictions on python trading. However, the annual volume of live imports into the United States has doubled since 1991 and the current regulation we have to monitor species importation is inadequate. The environmental disruption, the economic harm, and the threats to human and animal health are immeasurable. On the whole, current laws, such as the Lacey Act and the Animal Health Protection Act, provide the United States with a very low level of protection from potentially invasive and injurious species. Many species, such as the Burmese Pythons, Snakeheads, Red Lionfish and Nutria that have become extremely destructive invasive species in various parts of the country were not thought to be destructive when they were first imported. One step towards solving invasive species problems is by stopping further importation of a harmful species. The impacts Burmese pythons are having on national treasures like the Everglades and Big Cypress National Parks and the potential for similar problem situations to arise in other parts of the country when careless pet owners release these animals into the wild, needs to be addressed. We must be more careful with our imports, including captive breeds, to ensure that the destructive impact is kept to a minimum.



On July 8, I co-chaired a hearing between the Environment & Public Works Subcommittees on Oversight and Water and Wildlife entitled, "Threats to Native Wildlife Species." The hearing addressed the threats disease and invasive species pose to the country's native wildlife. Most importantly, we learned that prevention is much easier and cheaper than management. I am open to all views and would be interested to learn about what additional information or contrary evidence that you may have. Please feel free to send this material to my office in Washington.



Senator Nelson introduced S. 373 on February 3, 2009. It would amend the federal criminal code to add the constrictor snake of the species Python genera to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being shipped or imported into the United States. I can assure you that I will track the issue carefully and keep in mind your views.



Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts about S. 373 and pythons. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this, or any other matter of concern to you.