Kiss your hobby goodbye!!!! USFW Proposed ban!!!!

[ladywhipple02]

An online petition has been created: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/boasandpythonsban/

I agree, however, that it might be better if we gather our data and write our letters or comment on their site. Remember, they are leaving this open for us... they are giving us an opportunity to prove to them why this would not be a good thing for the community or the economy. They want DATA. So let's give it to them!

[Fearless]

Sry guys this is all about taxes nothing more.

I think you are wrong on that aspect, think many of the problems that they are trying to use as examples are just poor thought processes. Think that its obvious that irresponsible pet owners have ruined many good things in this country, and not opposed to people needing a permit for large species so that the good guys have a fighting chance at keeping the animals they choose to love.

Think alot of these laws come from lack of education and people assuming a python gets 20 feet long and will kill you. whether they are talking about balls, retics, or bloods. They are categorized into one.

Parts of these laws are on the right track to the good of snakes, such as taking imports out of the hands of the petco's in this country. Can promise that people that want the pet cuz it might be neat to have, will not go thru the troubles of hunting down a breeder to get the pet they want to keep for a week or two.

But as hobbyists read thru these regulations we need to realize that if we dont agree with so much as one part of these thoughts that we need to voice our opinion and shut down the uneducated idiots trying to quitely pass laws without the general publics knowledge.

As person stated earlier about how great this law is cuz it will stop irresponsible people, but you dont realize it will stop the people that do the best for there animals. If these are your thoughts, you are just as bad as any ignorant person that thinks snakes are evil. Voice your opinion also and state that as you may agree to some parts of this law, it is still being over generalized and needs to be thought out more logically.

[Seneschal]

I wrote up a rough draft...anybody wanna edit it or add/take out something? I tried to appeal to the "american pride" "democracy" thing as well as the economical standpoint.

To whom it may concern,
I am writing in response to the recent proposed bill regarding the Injurious Wildlife Species; Review of Information Concerning Constrictor Snakes From Python, Boa, and Eunectes genera. I am highly concerned about the repercussions this bill will cause should it be passed; in addition to stifling the entrepreneurial nature of Americans with an interest in the reptiles addressed by the bill and thus causing the US federal government to lose out on all of the sales and transportation taxes that are currently gained and will in the future—assuming that the bill does not, as I hope, pass—it will also cause a great economical recession in multiple economies. Not only will import and export tariffs from the hundreds of thousands of imported and exported animals each year be lost, so too will the jobs of thousands of people both in our country and in Africa and South America. We will loose, in effect, an entire economy; the export and import of these animals is a major source of income for many people, and many businesses would go out of business without the ability to import and export these animals. Additionally many businesses which breed in the USA and sell in the USA almost exclusively, but ship the animals out of state to make more sales, would suffer an enormous cut in profits, and would end up going out of business as well, possibly costing the federal government more money in social security and unemployment, and most certainly losing a great deal of money injected directly into the economy and stimulating it.

Not only are hobbyists and breeders and importers affected, so too will all retail stores featuring reptiles and reptile care equipment. When breeders are no longer able to transport between states, pet stores will no longer be able to carry many of the common species of python and boas and eunectes, because they will not be able to purchase the animals. Because they will not be able to sell the animals, many might cease to carry and sell much of the reptile based merchandise such as bedding, tanks, screen enclosures, heating elements, heat lamps, feeder rodents, heat cord, heat tape, flexwatt, mite treatment chemicals, cleaning chemicals, snake water bowls, misting equipment, humidifiers, thermometers, hygrometers, proportional thermostats, rack systems, tubs, rodent cages, rodent bedding, rodent water bottles, wooden climbing logs, snake hides, half-log hides, heat bulbs, electronic heat emitters, etc. which make up a startlingly large portion of money directly injected into the pet economy. Because of the sudden, widespread, and drastic drop in sales, many companies which design and manufacture these products will go out of business or file for bankruptcy, and widespread downsizing will result in enormous job losses. These workers will have to search for more work in an economy already in recess, and will be spending less money themselves, further exacerbating the recent rise in home mortgages falling through as people are unable to make payments, causing interest rates to rise higher and for it to be more difficult for people to secure loans. Because there will not be a new economy to replace the old one centering around reptiles and the things necessary to keep them, these workers, business owners, breeders, and importers will most likely not be able to find a job very easily, furthering the rise in unemployment rates.

On the other hand, rather than banning the import, export, and trade of these animals, I would suggest that you seek to broaden the recent laws passed in Florida which require permits for keeping, breeding, and selling certain species. I will not deny that it is a problem when irresponsible owners buy their small 18’’ Burmese python baby, and six months later don’t know what to do with their now 6 foot Burmese baby, and release it into the wild…however, we in the herpetological community do not condone such behavior or keeping practices, and we do not engage in irresponsible ownership, either. We do our best to teach new reptile owners proper ways to care for and keep their pets in such a way that they will not escape nor overwhelm their owners with their size. We do not affiliate ourselves with the irresponsible few who are doing such things. We as a community feel that this law should not be passed; there are always better solutions, always more democratic and positive solutions, than banning something altogether. We as a community are eager to search for and find a better way than this, a way which will make everyone happy and which will result in a more educated public, fewer loose animals, a more stable and enriched economy, and no bans on our hobbies, our businesses, our passions, and our pets.

At the same time, it is also important to consider that many of the long-held “truths” people “know” about the animals we keep are little more than myth, speculation, and unfounded fears. Better than any ban would be a system created to inform the public; a system wherein any customer seeking to purchase a large snake must be given a booklet informing them how large and fast the animal will grow, its behavioral patterns, its housing requirements, feeding requirements, and lifespan, in an effort to give people an idea of what they are getting into in making the purchase. A person should not be able to just walk into a store, point out a Burmese python and walk out of it without so much as proving that they know how large the snake will get…however, they should always have the right to buy that snake, to sell that snake, and to do so across state boundaries, if they are doing so in a safe and responsible manner.

I’m just asking you to give us a chance to prove to you, and to the public, that we can do better than this. Americans are better than this ban that’s being imposed, and moreover, all of us in the herpetological community want to strive to be better, for ourselves and for the sake of the animals.

Thank you for your time and your consideration.
Sincerely, Brandi Hitchew

[mischevious21]

wow Brandi- it looks good, and I couldent have put it better!

[Alice]

I wrote up a rough draft...anybody wanna edit it or add/take out something? I tried to appeal to the "american pride" "democracy" thing as well as the economical standpoint. . . . Thank you for your time and your consideration.
Sincerely, Brandi Hitchew[/I]

Brandi and others, as I understand it, this is not a proposed bill, but regulations being put forth by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. There is a huge difference.

A bill must be introduced by an elected official, voted on and passed by the majority and then signed into law by our President. Proposed regs are written by the federal bureaucrats in Washington, many times with help from public interest groups or lobbists. Federal bureaucrats are the people who work for the government. In many cases they are much more powerful than our elected officials, especially if they have been there a long time. I've seen government agencies drag out implementation of a signed bill for years because they didn't like it or through proposed rule making, change the entire concept of a signed bill. I think it is funny that dictionary.com defines a bureaucrat as "an official who works by fixed routine without exercising intelligent judgment."

We should be smart by sending well thought out comments and answers to the questions in the proposed regs to US Fish and Wildlife, the agency who has proposed these rules. But lets not stop there - we also need to hit our elected officials hard with letters. Heat can be applied by the politicians to the bureaucrats. We need to find some fellow reptile enthusiasts in congress, especially if they are on the committees that oversee Fish and Wildlife. Does anyone know of any US elected official that could help? We may also want to identify those congressmen that are against taking away individual's rights with big governement regulations - they may be another source of help. Anyone know the names of these elected officials that we could get to help us?

As we send letters to our congressmen, it is important to send them to those whose districts include where you live. "I live in your district and I am very concerned about the regulations being proposed by . . . . " It is also important to send letters to those congressmen who sit on the house and senate committees that oversee US Fish and Wildlife within the Department of Interior. While they may not be sympathetic to our fight, the could be overwhelmed by the number of letters and decide there are bigger issues to concern themselves with, especially if they are up for election. I believe in the House it is the Committee on Natural Resources, sub-committee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. Their link follows.

http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/...page&Itemid=60

In the Senate, I believe the committee with jurisdiction over US Fish and Wildlife is the Committee on Environment and Public Works, but I may be wrong here. Their link is

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.c...n=Members.Home

We need to make sure that these committees have jurisdiction over Fish and Wildlife, but that may have to wait until tomorrow. If so, these are the congressmen and women we need to target in addition to our local representatives and senators.

Let's keep the good ideas flowing . . .

[Shelby]

Well, I have written my letter and will send it ASAP.. I'll share this with my friends and co-workers too.. since I work at a pet store, I'm sure I'll find people willing to send a letter or two.

[Tim Marek]

The Department Of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service has a proposal for comment on their website.

The proposal is to ban all private ownership of Pythons and Boas in the US.

This can't be allowed to stand!

Please go to the link below, file comments, and tell everyone you know!

http://www.fws.gov/policy/library/E8-1770.html

Tim Marek and Rosie Hill
Fallon Nevada

Owner of two wonderful ball pythons - Flash and Roses...

[rabernet]

Merged Tim's post with this existing one.

[CeraDigital]

I have contacted some invertebrate dealers and breeders, and this greatly effects them as well. Majority of their sales are shut down as they sell at the major, and minor, reptile shows. As well as that, this could effect them in the sense that afterwards, they are the minority of the fauna/zoological keeping community, and could easily be shut down as well. Majority of the invertebrate keepers are small time reptile keepers as well. We have the majority of their support, so far.

[herpmajor]

This is ome of the many reasons we should be thankfull for a forum like Ball-Pythons.net. If it wasnt for this site many of us would not had known and had an oppertunity to act. And it is so much more effective when we can compile our thought as we are now doing. What a wonderfull thing when people who share a common interest can come together and talk about and fight for what they love. Thank you...thank you...thank you to the people who make this site possible. And thank you to every member who comes together when someone needs help or the hobby is in danger.