Seneschal - I LOVE your letter. I hope you don't mind but I edited and added to it for my own letters.. is this OK? You made excellent points and I couldn't have said it better, I just added a bit. Here it is:

To whom it may concern,
I am writing in response to the recent proposed bill regarding the Injurious Wildlife Species; Review of Information Concerning Constrictor Snakes From Python, Boa, and Eunectes genera. I am highly concerned about the repercussions this bill will cause should it be passed. In addition to stifling the entrepreneurial nature of Americans with an interest in the reptiles addressed by the bill and thus causing the Unites States federal government to lose out on all of the sales and transportation taxes that are currently gained and will be in the future (assuming that the bill does not pas) it will also cause a great economical recession in multiple economies. Not only will import and export tariffs from the hundreds of thousands of imported and exported animals each year be lost, so too will the jobs of thousands of people both in our country and in Africa and South America. We will loose, in effect, an entire economy. The export and import of these animals is a major source of income for many people, and many businesses would go out of business without the ability to import and export these animals either within or without the United States. Additionally many businesses which breed in the United States and sell in the United States almost exclusively, but ship the animals out of state to make more sales, would suffer an enormous cut in profits, and would end up going out of business as well, possibly costing the federal government more money in social security and unemployment, and most certainly losing a great deal of money injected directly into the economy and stimulating it.

Not only are hobbyists and breeders and importers affected, so too will all retail stores featuring reptiles and reptile care equipment. When breeders are no longer able to transport between states, pet stores will no longer be able to carry many of the common species of python and boas and eunectes, because they will not be able to purchase the animals. Because they will not be able to sell the animals, many might cease to carry and sell much of the reptile based merchandise such as bedding, tanks, screen enclosures, heating elements, heat lamps, feeder rodents, heat cord, heat tape, flexwatt, mite treatment chemicals, cleaning chemicals, snake water bowls, misting equipment, humidifiers, thermometers, hygrometers, proportional thermostats, rack systems, tubs, rodent cages, rodent bedding, rodent water bottles, wooden climbing logs, snake hides, half-log hides, heat bulbs, electronic heat emitters, etc. Which make up a startlingly large portion of money directly injected into the pet economy. Because of the sudden, widespread, and drastic drop in sales, many companies which design and manufacture these products will go out of business or file for bankruptcy, and widespread downsizing will result in enormous job losses. These workers will have to search for more work in an economy already in recess, and will be spending less money themselves, further exacerbating the recent rise in home mortgages falling through as people are unable to make payments, causing interest rates to rise higher and for it to be more difficult for people to secure loans. Because there will not be a new economy to replace the old one centering around reptiles and the things necessary to keep them, these workers, business owners, breeders, and importers will most likely not be able to find a job very easily, furthering the rise in unemployment rates.

This law would also negatively affect the economy of various cities in the United States that rely in part on business generated from reptile shows and expos across the country. The reptile and herpetological society has a large impact on the community and these animals are gaining in popularity as pets as more breeders provide captive bred, socialized animals of rare color. The cost for some of these animals of rare colors, called "morphs" can be tremendous, they are worth a lot of money due to the difficulty and knowledge required in producing, raising, and maintaining them. Some of these animals can and do regularly cost and are purchased at prices exceeding ten, fifteen, and twenty thousand dollars. These are prized animals produced by experienced, responsible, and knowlegable breeders whose lives depend and revolve around these species and this community. Not to mention what it would cost to implement and enforce this law. I cannot begin to comprehend the expense, it would be tremendous, unneccessary, unwarranted, and ineffective.

There are very few species that get large enough to cause concern for human or other animal safety. Ball Pythons (Python Regius) Blood Pythons (Python Curtus Brongersmai, Python Curtus Breitensteini, Python Curtus Curtus) among others, along with most Boa species and types do not get large enough to kill or seriously harm a human. Most of these species do not get larger than eight feet in total length at adulthood. Ball Pythons rarely exceed five feet in length and are extremely popular as pets.

Reticulated Pythons(Python Reticulatus), the Anaconda species (Eunectes murinus, Eunectes notaeus, Eunectes Beniensis, Eunectes Deschauenseei), African Rock Python species (Python Sebae Sebae, Python Sebae Natalensis) Indian Python Species (Python Molurus) including the most popular large snake the Burmese Python (Python Molurus Bivittatus) and others that do get over twelve or fifteen feet on average and that can reach extreme lengths of twenty feet or more, should be regulated not only for the safety of the humans involved but for the good of the snakes as well. I do not believe that banning these animals will be effective or appropriate.

Most snakes not indigenous to the lower forty-eight states are incapable of surviving in the wild. Snakes require warm temperatures and humidity. My home state of Oregon would not sustain a wild population of large constricting species not indigenous to this area. The winters are too cold and the summers are too dry. Most of the states in the United States do not have climates that are conducive to the survival of these animals in the wild, either of the adults or of eggs resulting from escaped breeding age animals.

On the other hand, rather than banning the import, export, and trade of these animals, I would suggest that you seek to broaden the recent laws passed in Florida which require permits for keeping, breeding, and selling certain species. I will not deny that it is a problem when irresponsible owners release their animals into the wild. However, we in the herpetological community do not condone such behavior or keeping practices, and we do not engage in irresponsible ownership. We do our best to teach new reptile owners proper ways to care for and keep their pets in such a way that they will not escape nor overwhelm their owners with their size. We do not affiliate ourselves with the irresponsible few who are doing such things. We as a community feel that this law should not be passed. We as a community are eager to search for and find a better way than this, a way which will make everyone happy and which will result in a more educated public, fewer loose animals, a more stable and enriched economy, and no bans on our hobbies, our businesses, our passions, and our pets. Americans are better than this ban that’s being imposed, and moreover, all of us in the herpetological community want to strive to be better, for ourselves and for the sake of the animals.

I will say please let me know if I got any info wrong, I am not terribly schooled on most species that would be effected by this but did try to do some info seeking on those animals I know little about to determine average adult sizes and what not. I included a small list of specific species for affect though I know I did not include everything, I got tired of all the latin but let me know if I got anything wrong or should include other animals etc. This is my rough draft of Seneschals rough draft.