Interesting. I think it would work but many in the Reptile Nation would not accept it.
How do I know? Well, it looks like USARK and PIJAC are seeing the writing on the wall and coming to the table to assist in penning laws that will satisfy the general public but preserve the majority of our rights.
..........and while people are still flying the USARK banners on their sigs, they are apparently not really paying attention to what USARK is doing.
Which, for the record, I support. This arguing back and forth about whether or not there is a problem when there IS a problem is a waste of time. We have an image problem and we have a discipline problem in this hobby. USARK is doing something very proactive - I just wonder when people will realize that this is not a take no prisoners war - it's a war of taking the bullets out of your opponents gun before he can shoot you with them - or in the case of Florida - performing a surgical amputation of a foot before you lose the whole leg.
Except for the fuzziness about enforcement, the NC bill was a step in the right direction. Add in a large python tax and we may actually be able to keep dangerous animals out of the hands of people who can't properly care for them.
We're already halfway down that slippery slope. USARK has helped pen legislation in NC and is negotiating with HSUS and Nelson in Florida.
Pay attention folks because this will happen in more and more places. This is the price we all pay for a few bad apples. State by state, USARK and PIJAC will be forced to sit down and help craft legislation that does it's best to cut the baby down the middle.
Are burms on the loose in Florida because of a hurricane or because of irresponsible owners? Doesn't matter. You can slap each other in the face with insults and throw studies back in forth until everyone is looking for "peer-reviewed" papers and climate change models. While you're doing that, the bills are piling up and new rules are being set.
So take the time to give PIJAC and USARK some feedback on the work they are doing. Read the bills, and understand that your fight now may not really be a fight, but an attempt to make the laws coming down the pipe easier to bear.
I've taken the time to give feedback to USARK about the work they are doing. How about some of you take a break from piling on Matt and do the same?