This has nothing to do with liberal or conservative politics, firearms or health care.
It has everything to do with the reptile hobby being unable to practice self-restraint.
This has been coming down the pipe for awhile and there is little to no constructive talk about what to do.
The hobby has gotten to the point where it can't even recognize that there are serious issues that need to be addressed.
You want to be outraged at someone? Be mad at the idiots who will sell a reticulated python to someone without any regard as to whether or not that person will be able to care for it. Be mad at the idiot that will sell a cobra to another person over the internet with a minimum of questions asked.
Here's a list of what is beign controlled in B.C.:
Order Crocodilia – [such as alligators, crocodiles and caimans]
All species of the Family Boidae that can grow to be more than 3 metres in length when measured from the front of the snout to the tip of tail when the animal is fully extended – [such as some boa constrictors and anacondas]
Family Crotalidae – [such as pit vipers] except Crotalus oreganus [western rattlesnake]
Family Elapidae – [such as death adders, cobras, kraits and mambas]
Family Helodermatidae – [such as gila monsters and beaded lizards]
All species of the Family Pythonidae that can grow to be more than 3 metres in length when measured from the front of the snout to the tip of tail when the animal is fully extended – [such as some pythons]
All species of the Family Varanidae that can grow to be more than 2 metres in length when measured from the front of the snout to the tip of tail – [such as Komodo dragons, crocodile monitors and water monitors]
Family Viperidae [such as true vipers]
Sub-family Aparallactinae – [such as mole vipers]
Sub-family Boiginae – [such as brown tree snake]
Sub-family Hydrophiinae – [such as sea snakes]
Sub-family Philodryas – [such as green racers]
Genus Dispholidus – [such as boomslang snakes]
Genus Thelotornis – [such as twig snakes]
If people cannot grasp that limitations needs to be put on owning large, dangerous or venemous reptiles then we will have severe limits put on all of our exotic pet ownership rights.
We still have a chance, through PIJAC or through other avenues, to show some restraint and put restrictions we can live with on ownership of potentially deadly, potentially invasive or large reptiles.
You can wring your hands and gripe about how we should be free to do whatever we please, but the fact remains - legislation on reptile ownership is coming: beat the government to the punch and address their concerns while preserving our rights.
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