WARNING - BAN ON BOAS & PYTHONS!! - HR6311 Reintroduced as HR669

[janeothejungle]

Well Dudes, Bring on the flaming.

I'm on the fence on this one. As one who's research is based on invasive species, I can understand the need for legislation to reduce the impact. If the hobby will not regulate itself, it is inevitable that someone else will do it for us. Although I do not agree with HR6311, as it is written, I can respect that there need to be rules. Despite what many of you seem to see as a black/white issue, there are legitimate questions to address here. The days of 'no rules, no regulation' are over. Ask anyone who has had to acquire a permit for their retic. We have the tendency to just yell 'boo-hiss' and pretend regulation is evil and will go away if we keep ignoring it. Instead, we should be looking at this as a chance to influence policy in a constructive way. Yes, we'll all be pissed if they were to shut down our breeding, but would it kill us to regulate the importation of new stock? Would it be a terrible thing to require licensing of large, powerful constrictors? Or of venomous species? Would the hobby die if that happened?

I happen to think of myself as a 'responsible' hobbyist. I believe in sustainability of as many species as we can bestow it upon. And if everyone who owned or bred herps was responsible about it, this would be a non-issue and I'd be waving pitchforks and protesting it full-force. But we're not. For every reputable, sensible individual in this industry, there are several who are not. All I ask is that you actually read the legislation and consider both sides. Don't just send radical hate mail to your congressmen. Be good stewards of your hobby and offer alternatives. The bill talks about grandfathering, so perhaps suggest it be extended to all CB stock already in the US and any subsequent offspring. Fight for better, more efficient management of importation and regulation. All I'm asking is that we use our heads instead of jumping in with emotion here.


~Kat