Quote Originally Posted by olstyn View Post
Snake lab, have you been paying *any* attention over the last 5 years? It started out as an attempt to ban all non-native wildlife and got reduced over time to 9 species, and now only 4. Yeah, we lost something, and we need to fight to get it back, but we lost a lot less than they were originally trying to take from us. I have to believe that the efforts of USARK lobbying and individuals making phone calls and writing their congresspeople and senators had an impact.

Obviously the fight isn't over for either side, but to claim that defeat is a foregone conclusion borders on the absurd. We can fight HSUS and win; we just have to get the general public to understand what HSUS (and PETA) are really all about.

5 years? Have you been paying attention? They have been lobying since the 90s to ban animals. Peta and the hsus have the power because they have the money. You are not going to convince their supporters of anything. They are radical to their beliefs. The fact of the matter is the reson that burms, rocks and anacondas were banned is because there is not much money in them therefore it was pretty easy to ban them. The reason retics were not banned is because there is too much money and tax dollars that would be lost. The same goes for boas. Usark just doesnt and will not have enough money to fight a legal fight against hsus or peta. Usark is trying to come up with 150k to file federal lawsuits. Hsus can stroke that check right now without batting an eye. Heres the scenario, usark files the lawsuit, then hsus ties it up in court till they bankrupt usark. Thats what will happen. I am a big supporter of usark and what it stands for dont get me wrong but i am also a realist. The bottom line is money. Whether you like it or not thats what it is. This fight has been brewing for a long time and this is just a small win for hsus. The war isnt over and as long as people dont freak out and sell collections and as an industry we keep plugging away we will over come this. As long as the animals we work with are worth money and the industry stays strong we will be fine. The govt is not going to loose out on tax money.