PIJAC on fox news today (video)

[Adam_Wysocki]

Also, I think that any species on "the list" can only be grandfathered if you have proof that you got it before Jan. 08. If you don't then oh well.

There is no provision for currently owned animals in either S 373 or HR 2811. The proposed legislation seeks to modify the Lacey Act which has never made a single provision for "grandfathering" in it's 99 year history.

As things stand today, burmese pythons and african rock pythons will be illegal to import and transport across state lines if what is currently being proposed becomes law ... also, if you give or sell your burmese python to a local friend that then takes the snake across state lines, you could be charged with a violation of federal smuggling laws punishable by up to 10 years in jail and/or a $10,000 fine.

USARK is working extremely hard to have HR 2811 amended even further to allow the captive bred trade in these snakes to continue, but they're being met with heavy opposition from the Humane Society of the United States, The Nature Conservancy, and Defenders of Wildlife. They will also have S 373 to contend with in the weeks ahead.

Even if you don't keep burmese pythons or african rock pythons, it's still very important for ALL pet owners to stand up against HR 2811 and S 373 ... For the first time in 99 years, Congress is about to declare species that have been kept in the pet trade for decades "injurious" and effectively put an end to those species as pets (probably forever). They are about to pass these laws without hearing one word of scientific testimony, without one shred of evidence presented either for or against, and without listening to any alternative solutions to the problems they think they are trying to solve. Once they do this, the only question left will be which species will they go after next ... it will only be a matter of time.

Join USARK ... or join PIJAC ... or, if you can, join both ... donate $10, donate $1, heck donate $.50 ... anything will help ... don't just sit there and believe that someone is taking care of it and it's not your problem ... it is your problem too and we can't do it without your help!

I hope this info helps and sorry for being so preachy.

-adam

[branson]

http://www.foxnews.com/search-result...tic+pet+battle

I found it on Kingsnake forums. It's a much better piece than we've been seeing...

[Skiploder]

I loved the part with the kids all over the burm. IDK why people are disagreeing. That just shows that pythons are NOT all evil. You could tell the python was a loved pet that was so tame it let the kids lay around it and all that. Just my

Frankly, your two cents, at the end of the day, are still worth two cents. The video of that lady letting her babies crawl all over that snake is priceless in the amount of damage it inflicts on this hobby. I could not have envisioned a more damaging clip to be aired with that story.

For better or for worse, people in this hobby are being labeled as irresponsible. The mother in the clip perpetuates that negative stereotype. Letting your babies play with a giant constrictor is irresponsible - I take that back - irresponsible is too weak a word for what she was doing - criminally stupid describes her actions much better.

If that python was hungry, thinking that that burm is somehow tame and feels affection for those kids would have led to another front page story.

While the interview, in general, was positive, that clip was sickening.

[rabernet]

Did you just say snakes are never tamed? Snakes can to be tamed and can show affection. Just my other

I'll see your two cents and raise it a nickel. No - they are not tamed - and they do not show affection. They don't "feel" affectionate towards humans. They have learned to tolerate the human interaction, but there's no doubt that woman was terribly irresponsible with her children.

All it would take is one wrong move to trigger that animal's instinct and have it strike and constrict one of those babies. One missed meal where it saw one of those babies as the perfect sized prey.

Is it REALLY worth putting on a dog and pony show with your own babies and your giant python to make some sort of point of how "tame" it is? No - that clip will be seen in a negative light about the irresponsible "type of people" who keep snakes, by those who fear snakes.

[mooingtricycle]

Did you just say snakes are never tamed? Snakes can to be tamed and can show affection. Just my other

I dare you then, to take a "Tame" burm, and place a small family pet in front of it. Go on. See what happens. You tell me that snake is "Tame" When its hungry, and very easily able to overpower and swallow that animal.

You can train a dog not to attack, and you can even train a cat to ignore pet rodents. You cannot train a pet snake, to ignore an easy meal.

They are NEVER "Tame" They are not like cats and dogs....

[rabernet]

I dare you then, to take a "Tame" burm, and place a small family pet in front of it. Go on. See what happens. You tell me that snake is "Tame" When its hungry, and very easily able to overpower and swallow that animal.

You can train a dog not to attack, and you can even train a cat to ignore pet rodents. You cannot train a pet snake, to ignore an easy meal.

They are NEVER "Tame" They are not like cats and dogs....

In addition, tell that to the folks that have been killed by their "tame" giants (be it burm, afrock or retic) when they forgot to clean up after working with rodents how affectionate their animals are after hugging the life out of them.

[wolfy-hound]

Whether or not any of us feel it is safe or unsafe to allow infants to sit in the coils of a giant python is irrelevant.

The damage is that the general public will see that video, and then immediately assume that all owners of giant pythons with small children do exactly the same thing. It makes all keepers look criminally irresponsible and hurts our overall image as a responsible keeper of reptiles.

My personal opinion is that she's a moron for allowing her infants to play on that snake. Not because it's a high probability that the snake will kill them, but for the very real possibility that the snake could kill them.

And if she came on this site and was on this thread, I would say the same thing. Shame on you for portraying us all as irresponsible!

[bad-one]

The video itself wasn't bad until the clip with the mother letting babies crawl around that large burm. Imagine a snake fearing person's worst fear... having their child eaten by one of these snakes! I wouldn't even hold an adult ball python by a baby, it just seems like a stupid and risky thing to do, no matter how calm the animal appears.

As stated above, they are not tamed animals and that's the first thing you should always remember around snakes. Snakes of any species are animal's primarily driven by instinct- whether its to hide, hunt, breed, or most importantly to feed.

[blackcrystal22]

Did you just say snakes are never tamed? Snakes can to be tamed and can show affection. Just my other

Huh.
So when my snake flicks it's tongue on my cheek, that means it loves me right?

[MPenn]

It was great to see that we had a spot on the news but did they have to show the toddlers all laying around on the snakes? There may have been an adult present but with the tight camera shots, none was shown. If we want the everyday public to respect us for what we do and our right to own them, why show video clips of that?