I must say Mr. nelson makes a good point, the only thing he said that i disagree with is that a Burm could take down a Florida panther; that have to be a giant snake to compete with a panther, though i guess still possible. Im sure everyone here can admit that the big pythons like burms, retics, rock pythons and other BIG constrictors do pose a threat to humans, wildlife and the eco-system when introduced to our wilderness; or even when kept as pets by irresponsible keepers.
Well now they(the government or nelson) wants to ban importation and exportation as well as buying, or breeding. Although I think the MAIN FOCUS here is on BIG snakes not all snakes in general because if that were the case they'd have to assess EVERY SINGLE SPECIES which would take forever; dont worry BP lovers I don't see how any member of congress or biologist can convince anyone that a Ball python is a dangerous invasive species.

In the case of big snakes Permits and chipping doesn't solve the problem because they've already tried that, irresponsible or uninformed people still manage to possess them without permits. So the next step would be to conduct what is trying to be done here with these 2 bills, a complete absolute ban, but would that work? How do you even enforce a ban? Let alone on a species thats in hundreds of homes, that would still pose a potential threat of getting out of their enclosure into the wild. Also just because you ban importation and exportation doesn't mean it will stop, it will just be illegal to do so. I don't think its going to fix the problem of invasive species like the Burmese python thriving in the southern states but would only slow it down... a tad.

Let me make myself clear I AM IN NO WAY IN FAVOR OF NOR APPROVE OF EITHER OF THESE BILLS. I hate the idea of prohibition and regulation no matter the subject. Thing is big snakes & big monitors are posing a threat to our natural environment and their territory is only going to broaden to different states unless something is done; but what cuz i don't know an answer other than to teach the world how to appreciate these animals but at the same time how to properly care for them and show the potential of how big a problem they become when released into the wild.

Let's respond quickly and efficiently to these bills cuz last time with HR669 it was a sloppy mess the message we the Herp World conveyed to the House or Senate or whatever was
:DONT TAKE OUR SNAKES, DONT TAKE OUR SNAKES