Fight for your right to keep exotic pets!!

[kittyhazelton]

OK, I know this probably doesn't really concern too many of you here on a personal level, but in the world of reptile keeping we've been fighting for a few years now to prevent a federal ban on certain species of constrictor snakes.
The biggest issue is that the ban came about due to issues concerning these animals getting loose and reaping havoc on the Florida Everglades. Now, I know not too many people view snakes as "cute" "cuddly" or "good pets" in comparison to our avian friends, but lets look at what this ban means to exotic pet keeping in general...
The ban was pushed for by organizations such as PETA and HSUS who have openly expressed their desire to end ALL pet ownership, especially exotics such as reptiles and birds. This may not effect you RIGHT NOW, but I can guarantee that this is only a first step towards increased regulations imposed on ALL of our pets.
For someone such as myself this affects me in several major ways: I live on the border of two states, my animals regularly cross state lines for veterinary exams, and being an educator I attend events in both states. This ban will either prevent me from doing this entirely, or impose a pricey permit & ridiculous restrictions on my ability to continue to do this. I already pay over $300 a year for my existing STATE wildlife educator permits, I am NOT looking forward to having to jump through any more hoops for a Federal permit system.
Many states ALREADY prevent the private ownership of these animals, more legislation is NOT going to be effective. If anything it'll only scare more people into DUMPING their pets for fear of getting caught thus feeding the already excising problem of exotic animals causing problems in natural ecosystems.

For more information on the python ban: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/17/2 ... n-ban.html
http://www.usark.org/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 2a95607c4a
http://www.pijac.org/governmentaffairs/s373forum.asp

[liz]

My son breeds and morphs ball pythons. You may have heard of KoldThumb. Balls only grow to 5 feet and they are called balls because they roll into a ball when scared instead of attacking.

He rescued a reticulated python from the brink of death. It was so skinny I could see all it's bones. It had sores all over it from other snakes biting. My son invested a lot of time, patience, energy and money to restore it to health. Then it attacked him. We are in NC but he found a woman in NY who could handle it. They met in the middle instead of shipping.

There are many snakes, especially poisenouse, that I don't think should be kept as pets. I believe that the ones that are scarey should be treated like guns. If one is let loose the owner can be found and punished.

That is just my opinion.

[kittyhazelton]

My son breeds and morphs ball pythons. You may have heard of KoldThumb. Balls only grow to 5 feet and they are called balls because they roll into a ball when scared instead of attacking.

He rescued a reticulated python from the brink of death. It was so skinny I could see all it's bones. It had sores all over it from other snakes biting. My son invested a lot of time, patience, energy and money to restore it to health. Then it attacked him. We are in NC but he found a woman in NY who could handle it. They met in the middle instead of shipping.

There are many snakes, especially poisenouse, that I don't think should be kept as pets. I believe that the ones that are scarey should be treated like guns. If one is let loose the owner can be found and punished.

That is just my opinion.

You realize many of the things you just pointed out about the animals being neglected, attacking, harming the ecosystem. could ALSO be said about parrots, pit bulls, horses, even cats.
A ban on one species, no-matter how "dangerous" people are led to believe, is just one step closer to banning ALL of them.
Do I think everyone should have one of these animals? NOT AT ALL, but these knee-jerk bans placed on by the government will do NOTHING to solve the problem.
There's a saying: "Outlaw guns, and only outlaws will have guns" Do you think any of these idiots who neglect, starve, or purposefully entice their animals to be vicious or attack are going to give one bit of a damn about the law?
Also, it's been illegal to release ANY non-native animal of ANY species into the wild for quite some time... tell me this, has that made a difference? The same reasoning they're trying to push for banning reptiles could just as easily apply to CATS (which by the way are more responsible for the decline in small mammal & bird populations, as well as spread of disease than ANY reptile ever has been)

[dorp]

Obama is coming to take away your birds liz

[kittyhazelton]

Oh, and if you think ball pythons "don't attack" please tell that to the 3 adult male ball pythons I currently have who are VERY agressive, have bitten me numerous times, and also came to me severely malnourished. I'm sure they were previously purchased by some people who knew exactly what they were doing... sigh.

[Michael]

Without getting wrapped up in specifics let me just point out that nearly always government intervention is to everyone's regret. One day it's reptiles, the next it's parrots. Don't think for a minute that if government gets involved in regulating parrots they won't start charging "license" fees for keeping them or come to your home to measure the cage and tell you it's not big enough by their standards, etc. Liberty must prevail but it also requires responsibility. People must not only take charge by taking good care of their own pets but also ensuring that others are doing the same. We as owners must police ourselves and others so that the government doesn't come up with some kind of blanket policies that harm us all.

[kittyhazelton]

Without getting wrapped up in specifics let me just point out that nearly always government intervention is to everyone's regret. One day it's reptiles, the next it's parrots. Don't think for a minute that if government gets involved in regulating parrots they won't start charging "license" fees for keeping them or come to your home to measure the cage and tell you it's not big enough by their standards, etc. Liberty must prevail but it also requires responsibility. People must not only take charge by taking good care of their own pets but also ensuring that others are doing the same. We as owners must police ourselves and others so that the government doesn't come up with some kind of blanket policies that harm us all.

Exactly what I was getting at!
For many of the reasons that people claim reptiles shouldn't be allowed as pets: "They're wild animals" "They could cause harm to the public" "They could get loose and damage the environment" could just as easily be crossed over to other species, who's to prevent them from passing a law stating that Macaws shouldn't be kept in cages cause it's "not natural" for them not to fly, or that they are "dangerous" to keep as pets because they could rip open a finger. What about avian diseases that could spread to native bird populations in the event someone's free-flighted parrot got loose? How about even the whole "quaker parrot" problem that many states have put a ban on? Should they facilitate a federal ban because of the damage those birds are causing in a few specific areas?
Just because an animal is "scary" to you or isn't something that you believe should be kept as a pet does NOT mean that regulations put out on the ownership of such creatures will stop there.

[Michael]

Just because an animal is "scary" to you or isn't something that you believe should be kept as a pet does NOT mean that regulations put out on the ownership of such creatures will stop there.

Right. But this is why it is SOOO important that the owners take proper care and precautions that nothing bad happens. First and foremost to other humans and then to the animals. Cause when one stupid owner "frees" their animal or is showing off and it hurts someone, that could ruin it for everyone. So if someone lets their macaw (or chimp or dog for that matter) maul a guest, that could end up ruining it for everyone who does everything right and doesn't create this trouble.

[liz]

If a gun is lost or stolen it should be reported to the police before it can be a problem.

If a gun is found it should have been registered so the owner can be found.

Sorry - my suns ball pythons are docile.

[kittyhazelton]

If a gun is lost or stolen it should be reported to the police before it can be a problem.

If a gun is found it should have been registered so the owner can be found.

Sorry - my suns ball pythons are docile.

You do realize that many violent gun crimes occur with unregistered/stolen/illegally obtained firearms right? How is reporting a gun stolen going to prevent the felon doing the stealing from using it to kill an innocent bystander?