H.R. 511 - Letter to the US House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Fisher

[gsarchie]

I went to the following website:

https://naturalresources.house.gov/contact/

and wrote this letter to the US House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs:

"Committee members,

First and foremost, I would be writing this letter out by hand and mailing it to you were I not currently stationed at a FOB in Afghanistan that doesn't have any postal facilities. My name is Bruce Archambault and I am a 1LT in the United States Army. At present I am stationed in SE Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom 2012. I have spent the last 8 months here as part of an SFAT that advises the leadership of two different Afghan Infantry Battalions. In a couple of weeks I will be heading back to my home station of Ft. Carson, Colorado.

The reason that I am writing you is to ask that you do not support HR 511, which, as you know, you will be having a hearing for on 29 November, 2012. I studied ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of KS, where I received a BS in the aforementioned field, and I care very deeply about the health of every ecosystem found within the borders of this great nation, a nation which I have sworn to protect against all enemies.

The science that drove the passage of the ban of 4 large species of pythons in March of this year was flawed, as it compared the average temperatures of the home ranges of the snakes to the average temperatures in the SE United States. Temperatures in the SE U.S. fluctuate more than the temperatures in the home ranges of the species in question. This is important to note because with that greater fluctuation come lower temperatures around that average, and the factor that limits range with the species in question is the lowest recorded temperatures in a given year, not the average. Multiple studies in recent years suggest that none of the speices mention in HR 511 can survive for an extended period of time north of the southernmost portion of Florida (Avery et al. 2010; Dorcas et al. 2011; Mazzotti et al. 2011; Jacobson et. al. 2012).

The addition of the species named in H.R. 511 to the Lacey Act list of injurious species would have a great impact on many small businesses and families that breed these species. Please consider the following:
- Trade in reptiles and ancillary businesses are estimated to be a 3 billion dollar a year industry.
- More than 9 million reptiles are exported from the U.S. annually.
- More than 11 million reptiles are kept in the U.S. as pets, which breaks down to around 1 in 25 household having a reptile as a pet.
- The U.S. accounts for 82% of the worldwide trade in reptiles.
- The addition of these species to the Lacey Act list of injurious species would negatively impact at least 500,000 Americans and thousands of small family businesses would be destroyed.
- There are approximately 4 million boas and pythons and over 7 millions geckos, lizards, turtles and other reptiles in captivity in the U.S. today.

If boas, specifically, were to be added to the Lacey Act list of injurious species I would not be able to bring a boa constrictor that I have owned since it was a small hatchling, a snake which is a beloved family pet of my wife, my two sons and myself, the next time that I have to PCS to another state as part of my service to the nation and the United States Army.

I am not against any and all laws being passed in regards to the keeping of reptiles by individuals. I would, in fact, support legislation that focused on ensuring the safe and responsible keeping of the species in question in HR 511. These could range from establishing minimum caging requirements that would deal with size and security features in order to ensure the health of an animal and the safety of the owners, to requiring micro-chipping of animals so that any that are found released illegally could be traced to their owner for fines and other punishment. This said, an outright ban is not the correct answer.

Please, ladies and gentlemen of the committee, do not support HR 511. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Bruce Archambault
1LT, FA, U.S. Army"

I am hopeful that this will be seen and considered by the committe before the hearing but that may well be wishful thinking. Either way, I urge anyone that has the time to do so to go to the website that I have linked and write a letter yourself. There is strength in numbers! Let's do what we can to ensure that our individual voices are heard.