Quote Originally Posted by KittyJ
I dont agree with buying or importing captive bred Bps. If I would've known Chester was WC I wouldnt of never boughten him. Sad to say but truth. We cant hardly excpet if we suddenly say " Oh well Bps ar elow in numbers lets stop importing them" It takes time for people to stop and change what they are doing. We have enough blood of Bps in captivity. And besides more than half the Bps brought in from the wild die... when they could be living or trying to make a living in the wild..I am 110% against WC Bps and importing them from the wild into captivity.
You've gotten a hold of some incorrect information. An extremely small percentage of the ball pythons that are imported into the United States die during the trip. There are strict regulations developed by an organization called IATA that regulates the way these animals are packaged and shipped to maximize their saftey and protect their lives and health.

Also, we do not have anywhere near "enough" "blood" in captivity to meet the demand for ball pythons in this country ... it's estimated that captive bred animals at this point don't even cover 15% of the annual demand for these animals.

The reality is that there is an explosion in the ball python population in West Africa ... they are actually considered nuisance animals over there ... if they aren't imported into the United States pet trade, they'll be exported from West Africa to Asia as a meat product, and if not exported to Asia, they would be burned out of their burrows and killed. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with a well started, healthy, CH animal from a breeder/dealer that stands behind what they sell.

Hope this helps.

-adam