I Attended the HR2811 Hearing on July 29th

[dr del]

Hi,

O.k - firstly this post contains nothing but personal opinion. I'm still allowed one so if anyone gets upset please target all missiles and barbs at me alone.

One thing really bugs me... the "Reptile Nation" won't take responsiblity for what they've done.

Take the Barkers, for instance.

They stay there are no records of people releasing burmese pythons in the wild of Florida. Like the bastard that does will report himself, right?

Then, they try to blame it on a) hurricanes blowing down zoos and b) imported babies - yay, affecting even MORE ecosystems! - escaping from airports.

C'mon, people.

These snakes were released by irresponsible buttholes of reptile owners.

People would not have to "report themselves" for there to be a record - getting caught or even seen would do it. Heck, even third party gossip would likely be trumpeted from the rooftops in the current climate.

Now considering you are planning on studying these things I take it that means you can guestimate the intial numbers needed to create a population of 100,000+ within 20 years without any observed problems with genetic diversity?

Can you, even for a second, seriously believe that it is less likely that hurricane damage in an area with import warehouses, zoos and breeders collections would release a large number of burmese pythons than the notion that the same number of individual keepers all spontaneously decided to drive to florida and release their snakes?

"C'mon" indeed.

They are competing with the native wildlife - which is already having a tough time with all the other thousands of imported species - to survive in THEIR NATIVE HABITAT.

But hey, according to the Barkers, it cannot be said they'll have a negative impact on the Everglades!

Can you people do simple math? Burmese pythons eat food... food that native species would eat... add these two together, and you'll figure out in a short time - well, unless you're not very bright - that native species will have an even harder time finding food.

Well, since I am apparently not very bright, can you explain why predators capable of eating an animal within the range eaten by a burmese throughout its life would be incapable of eating a baby or juvenile burmese? It is quite a large range of prey sizes when all is said and done and a baby burmese is hardly an invincible monster.

There are after all other reptiles of similar size that have been suffering predation in that area for some considerable time. Since this is an apparently exploding population it must logically be comprised of a higher amount of younger (therefore smaller ) examples than older mature animals - wouldn't that mean it is theoretically more likely that, numerically, burmese pythons are more of a food source than you are crediting?

And can you please stop insinuating that anyone who doesn't agree with you is not very bright or cannot do simple maths?

It is very annoying coming from someone plainly inhaling the fumes from the wrong end of his high horse.

The burms are there to stay. Banning pythons won't stop that.

It will, however, prevent other burmese/african rock/whatever pythons from populating yet another area.

Instead of saving our right to keep these animals in cages, the Reptile Nation should fight for natural ecosystems and preserve them.

Later, Matt

Which other area? Be specific if possible.

And if there are in fact 100,000+ animals already in situ then the number of animals that could be expected to be added by escapes or deliberate release by irresponsible keepers is statistically and practically utterly, utterly insignificant.

If the burms are here to stay then there is no pristine ecosystem that can be reverted to.

[RANT]
As a matter of fact there never was - ecosystems have been altered and shaped by mankinds actions since we planted the first crop. The everglades included - the billions they are spending are to try and revert it to a point in time they have chosen arbitrarily.

To believe that any ecosystem can be isolated enough to be fully restored to a time before human intervention and preseved in a kind of stasis is the same kind of farcical, wooly minded miscomprehension of the natural world that fills the minds of the animal rights lunatics.

Nothing in nature is stable long term, there was no mythical Eden that we must strive to recreate and protect. If your plan and desire is to artificialy and arbitrarily create and maintain a false construct at least have the decency to admit it and refrain from denegrating people who do not share your desires.
[/RANT]

Once again, these are my views not the views of BP.net.


dr del