I forgot to mention that I also included in the letter that in our search for reliable, responsible captive breeders of quality ball pythons, we tend to either go to reptile shows or have them shipped from out-of-state and cited BHB Reptiles in Michigan and 8BallPythons in Maryland as prime examples.

Quote Originally Posted by anatess View Post
But see, Scotty, the thing is, that paragraph was only the last paragraph of a very eloquent, well thought-out appeal to Senator Nelson to remove S373 from the Senate floor. And it was paraphrased at that - because, I don't have a copy of the letter I sent! I wish I would have saved the letter so I can post a copy of it here. But, alas, I did not expect to be defending it to you guys! The letter is riddled with facts about the Ball Python - not as an industry, but as a species - gathered from my son's Ball Python books. I touched on why experts consider Ball Pythons a good starter pet and how my 7 and 5 year old sons have benefited from ball python ownership as opposed to their Bichon Frise dog and my African Grey parrot. It attempts to predict the impact a Ball Python will have on the vulnerable and near threatened Floridian fauna like the Key Largo Wood Rat as opposed to the impact of habitat loss from expanding human development (the main reason why Sen Nelson wanted a Federal ban is because Burmese Pythons are killing vulnerable fauna in the Everglades). It also outlines the differences between the Ball Python and the Brown Tree Snake in Guam. And it also provides key differences between a Burmese Python and a Ball Python and their prey items. I had at least 6 books open plus the internet search engines running at full power to make sure I was accurate. Towards the end, I made special mention of the current permit process instituted by the State of Florida on Jan 1, 2008 to regulate ownership of certain species of pythons, anacondas, and nile monitors. This was a successful compromise between FFWCC and the Florida Herp Society and can be used as a template for a Federal bill. The letter did not touch on the ball python trade as an industry because I meant to focus on the fact that not all pythons are created equal and that a sweeping ban is, in fact,... here we go... ready?... ignorant of the existence of Ball Pythons. Okay, so revise the last statement, take out ignorant, and replace with a different word - make sure you keep the meaning of the sentence - and send to your senator. But, in the whole scheme of things, with all that I presented in the letter, do you really think the use of the word ignorant matters one bit? I mean, of course, if the letter would have said, "Your introduction of this preposterous bill is indicative of your ignorance" regardless of the professionalism of the first 10 paragraphs... yeah, I would see that as a big problem. 'Nuff said.