Improving Public Perception of Keeping Snakes

[bcr229]

Is there anyone with the time to create a positive campaign for keeping reptiles, especially larger snakes? It would be great if there were something positive we could share on social media that helps dispel some of the misruths and lies used to hurt our community. I already share lots of stuff from national geographic and similar pages on Facebook. Propaganda and fear mongering can be countered.

I want to address this in its own thread because it's too important to get lost in the USARK vs USFWS lawsuit discussion. I believe that H$U$ will bring pressure on states and localities to "do something" about the "public safety issue" of keeping exotic pets in the near future. Public perception will play a huge role in how effective we are in countering attacks on our hobby.

USARK is great BUT it's not a large, well-funded organization that can mount a nationwide PR campaign. Also, as a 501c3 charity it is legally limited in its "activism" activities. Most other special interest groups have at least three associated corporations: a 501c3 charity for fighting legal battles and/or engaging in public education, a 501c4 for lobbying, and a political action committee (PAC) for endorsing candidates for office and donating to election campaigns. Since there is no nationwide group with the resources to focus on improving public perception of reptile owners and ownership at the moment, it's up to each of us to do our part.

So, I'm going to throw out some ideas that require nothing more than a little time to implement based on my own experiences. If you have any other ideas to add please post them! Note that these are things we can do day-to-day, over and above reacting to USARK alerts, signing petitions, calling legislators, voting "pro pet", writing letters to the editor based on current events, etc.

Sharing good information from respected, well-research sources on social media is a great way to reach a lot of people. Also, if you do see propaganda in your own news feed and you dispute it, remember that you can "disagree without being disagreeable". The person who engages in name-calling and personal attacks loses the argument.

I've seen some group admins on Facebook add rules about no live-feeding videos and no nasty-looking bite photos. I would discourage you from posting these on your own FB walls as well. We know that live feedings (especially with picky ball pythons) and the occasional nip are part and parcel of owning snakes, but it's not necessarily something your friends and family want to see pop up from you on their own news feed. Plus, I'm sure most reptile groups contain PETA-philes who will save these off for later use against the reptile hobby.

Outside of social media (yes, life outside of the Internet does exist) there are ways to gently steer family, friends, and coworkers away from thinking that reptiles are nasty/evil/bad/etc. Doing so requires you be open, though not obnoxiously so, about the fact that you keep reptiles as pets. I've noticed that most folks keep quiet about their collections, whether they have one snake or hundreds, and that has to change if we're to be seen as mainstream. You don't have to go on... and on... and on... about your pet snakes (like some people do about their kids or dogs) but you shouldn't be afraid to talk about them either.

I'll give an example from my cube farm / work environment. Usually my computer desktop is covered with the applications I'm using, but when those are closed, or when I'm away at meetings so my screen saver is up, my display shows some of the rather awesome snake photos that my husband has taken. Similarly my mouse pad has a picture of my daughter with one of our ball pythons. People walking by can't help but see them. So, my coworkers know I keep snakes. Also, other coworkers have mentioned they have snakes, but they told me only because they saw my pictures, and were otherwise too scared of being thought of as "weird" if people found out!

Another example is that we do take our larger boas and retics outside in our front yard for exercise. We're in a quiet single-family home subdivision with minimal foot traffic so it's rare that someone stops to look at the critters, but when they do the reactions have all been positive. The kids especially are enamored with them, and some are now bugging their parents to get a pet snake.

Obviously this isn't an option if you live in an apartment complex with a shared/common ground for residents. I also wouldn't recommend taking your snake to public areas such as parks, stores, etc. unless specifically invited.

I also have to give kudos to the person in this thread - http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-the-Lacey-Act - for using the opportunity to educate her teacher and classmates.