Last Chance to stop the Python and Boa Ban!

[WingedWolfPsion]

The Deadline for Public Comment on the US Fish & Wildlife Service proposed Rule Change is midnight on May, 11 2010. If enacted this rule could have devastating impact on the Reptile Nation. Damage will not be limited to breeders of the 4 pythons, 4 anacondas and Boa Contrictor. It would have far reaching effect. Most of the Reptile Trade Shows would not be able to continue. Rodent producers, caging manufacturers and shippers would suffer devastating impact. Many would go out of business. Please help USARK challenge the Rule Change! Go to http://www.Kill-RuleChange.com and follow the instructions!! It is extremely important that everyone pull together and make Public Comment before the deadline!!!

www.kill-rulechange.com/


***Place this link on every social networking site, every forum and email list. Put it on Twitter. Put it everywhere. Encourage everyone to participate. Call friends, family and coworkers.

Kill Rule Change! Do it Today!

[Odie]

Going NRA on this "they will have to pry it (garter snake) from my cold dead hands"

[ConcinusMan]

I feel for you but I don't give a damn. I would like to see many species of boas and pythons get banned. Too darn many of them being bred and suffering at the hands of inexperienced and irresponsible people who buy them. I am quite sick of seeing neglected and injured balls and boas pouring in to the local rescues. It's ridiculous. Bottom line is, they aren't the greatest pet to be having in the first place.

Now how exactly does the proposed change make it so reptile shows won't be able to continue? Doesn't sound right to me.

[guidofatherof5]

This type of legislation is only the beginning. If it is passed it will be used as the litmus test for future legislation against other animals.
I don't believe a Florida problem is cause for new federal law. The State of Florida can address its problem in its own State House.

The passage of this legislation is strike against all reptile keepers. Just my opinion.

[ConcinusMan]

It's not just a florida problem. Not by a long shot.

I just don't think a snake as powerful and large as some pythons or even a boa constrictor are, have any business in the hands of morons anymore than a venomous snake does.

[guidofatherof5]

It's not just a florida problem. Not by a long shot.

I just don't think a snake as powerful and large as some pythons or even a boa constrictor are, have any business in the hands of morons anymore than a venomous snake does.

Yes, you are right but the main focus has been on Florida.
I should have clarified my statement.

[ConcinusMan]

The problem in florida is tragic, for sure, but that's not my main reason for supporting the change. In florida the damage is already done. The snakes already have a sustainable population in the wild. I already mentioned the main reason I would support a well-written, specific change to the rules.

[jere000]

I feel for you but I don't give a damn. I would like to see many species of boas and pythons get banned. Too darn many of them being bred and suffering at the hands of inexperienced and irresponsible people who buy them. I am quite sick of seeing neglected and injured balls and boas pouring in to the local rescues. It's ridiculous. Bottom line is, they aren't the greatest pet to be having in the first place.

Now how exactly does the proposed change make it so reptile shows won't be able to continue? Doesn't sound right to me.

Bull crap plain and simple they are good pets, and why should i have my rights stripped away do to some idiot who thought it looked cute in the pet store i own 5 boas love them all, and take care of them.

[bkhuff1s]

It's ok the everglades are going to flood then they will go into all the backyards... nope that didn't make me feel any better about the situation either...

[WingedWolfPsion]

Large pythons and boas aren't for everyone, but there are a million of them in the US, and there have been very few fatalities. Fewer people have been killed by giant snakes in the last decade than were killed by dogs last year. Horses and other livestock also have much higher death counts. It's dangerous to own a horse, so why should be people be allowed to own one?

The government isn't our nanny, and should not have the right to dictate what animals we may keep as pets. The 2-year old child being used as an illustration of why these animals are dangerous died under highly suspicious circumstances indeed, and there is good cause to believe that the snake was innocent.

(Examples: multiple bite wounds. Feeding pythons bite once, and then constrict, they do not bite repeatedly except in self-defense. The snake was only 8.5 feet long (barely over the safe handling length), and emaciated--why would it attack a 2 year old child? The snake was killed with two bladed instruments, allegedly used to sever its spine while it had the child coiled...and somehow, the child was never nicked by these blades. The big, burly boyfriend claimed he couldn't get the snake off the child--_I_ could get that snake off of anything, it was thin and not very big. The boyfriend turned away investigators at the door immediately after the 911 call, and would not allow them in without a warrant. The children in the household had been abused. To anyone familiar with pythons, this looks like a scenario where the child was suffocated, then the snake was aggravated and induced to bite her, killed, and posed with her body).

The argument that the animals are mistreated and wind up in rescues is one that can only rightly be made by a person who does not believe that people should be permitted to own pets. You see, there will always be people who are ignorant, or who won't care for their pets properly, no matter WHAT the animals are. If boas and pythons are unavailable, they will move on to the next animal--such as garter snakes (which are often treated far worse due to their low monetary value). The key to this is education, not a ban. You prosecute those who break animal cruelty laws--you don't punish those who are doing things the right way.

You should understand that adding these species to the Lacey Act's injurious wildlife list will NOT make owning them illegal. It will only make transporting them across State lines or importing them illegal. Existing animals that have GOOD owners will therefore wind up in rescues, in the hands of the inexperienced, released, or euthanized if their owner must move out of State. (Though more likely they'll just be smuggled). Adding these species to the Lacey Act will not make breeding or SELLING them illegal, so long as it is within the State. It WILL lower their monetary value dramatically overnight, and it WILL make releases of animals much more likely than they were before. This proposal is BAD for the economy, it's BAD for reptile owners, it's BAD for the environment, and it's BAD for the snakes themselves. It will actually not solve ANY problems--not a single one.

The USDA report being used to justify this proposal is a total fabrication. These species cannot survive a winter outside of South Florida.

And finally, Python molurus includes a dwarf island form which does not exceed 6 feet in length. There are several boa constrictor species that do not exceed 6 feet in length, including the Hogg Island Boa, which is EXTINCT in the wild, and now exists only in the hands of those who care about it and breed it. The super-dwarf reticulated python does not exceed 6 feet in length. All of these animals will become unsaleable across State lines. That's right--I, living in Nebraska, would not be permitted to buy a 6 foot adult dwarf Burm python from Iowa. WHY?

Laws should never be passed unless there is a GOOD reason to pass them. This law simply crushes those who have chosen to invest in breeding these animals, and it does not in any way solve any of the problems it was concocted to address.