A full committee markup hearing is scheduled for Wednesday July 29th at 10AM. At that time it appears that an amendment will be proposed that changes the wording to specify only Burmese pythons and African Rock pythons. What is not known is if this will specify any type of exception for interstate transport and captive breeding.
I will be at the hearing and will post what I learn as soon as it is over.
Assuming this proposal is accepted the bill will either then be referred to committee for expert testimony or it will go to the House floor for a vote.
Efforts of the reptile community need to shift to asking for this bill to go before committee with expert testimony rather than to a vote on the House floor.
There is a painful process at work here. All exotic animal owners should be very afraid, not just Burmese python owners. Consider this:
1) This may be the first time (that I know of) that Congress has modified the list of animals on the Lacey Act. That process is normally handled by US Fish & Wildlife in collaboration with other government bodies and it is only done after a scientific analysis is performed. That process is actually underway for Burmese pythons but is being circumvented by Congress. The circumvention has the Humane Society of the United States (a special interest group) behind it. This is the same group whose CEO recently called for a ban on the ownership of ALL exotic animals. Yeah, that eventually includes ball pythons. Burms are just an easy target.
1A) This modification to the Lacey Act has gone from not existing to a potential vote in less than 2 months. This means that all pet owners need to be afraid of what an out of control Congress being misled by the media and special interest groups (HSUS) can do in a very short time. Fish lovers, bird enthusiasts, all reptile and amphibian keepers and anyone else who keeps a pet needs to wake up. This is actually happening.
2) Today, one of the House delegates suggested getting testimony from experts because members of Congress do not know anything about pythons. Expert testimony can help Burmese pythons owners right now and is one of the only viable ways I see for a provision that allows for the continued breeding and interstate transport of Burmese.
All of this means that people with no reptile knowledge are making decisions about the fate of a healthy number of reptile keepers without understanding the facts behind the decision they are making. I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach right now. You should too.
3) This is largely a party line issue. Democrats are for the ban. Republicans oppose it. This is not a hard line, of course. There are voices from both sides calling for a ban but those voices are decidedly Democratic. The proposal to amend the current bill will be introduced by a Republican.
I recommend people continue to contact members of the Judiciary committee and request that HR2811 be brought to committee for expert testimony. That is our best chance to keep the captive breeding of Burmese pythons legal in the US.
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