http://usark.org/action-alert/usfws-cat ... clusion-2/
It's been a long while since I've posted, yet I've lurked... and lurked...
Despite that I decided it was about time I emerged and said something, being that my real-life pets were in danger of being thrown into the Lacey Act, which would make me a felon if I crossed state lines with them if they were to be placed on that list. The Humane Society of the United States, an anti-pet group that has been combating USARK for a few years now has reared its head again to try and place the boa constrictor (including all subspecies) and the reticulated python onto the list that would include them into the Lacey Act. They will no longer be able to be imported, or transported across state lines in any manner unless they are being exported from the United States. USARK addresses this very well.
Usually, I'm against National Geographic as they get most of their views from bashing constrictors but to see them lending a helping hand really puts them in a new light for me. Either way, if you own ANY SORT OF ANIMAL it will be in your benefit to oppose the bill designed to give the enemies of our pets the means of adding whichever species they like to the Lacey Act, for any reason. This includes hamsters if they should as much as deem them "injurious" to our nation's environment- without any scientific backing at all. I guess I've gotten my point across well enough. Please, help us out folks. They won't stop with reptiles.Anti-pet groups are being allowed to force their agenda upon all Americans. Constrictor snakes have been held as pets for over 50 years and there is no evidence to support injurious listing.
The proposal to list these snakes under the federal Lacey Act is opposed by a wide group of stakeholders, including the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), the pet industry, and the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, to name a few. The proposal was highlighted in a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing as federal overreach and at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing which featured National Geographic’s resident herpetologist in opposition to the listing.
The Boa constrictor is by far the most commonly held and most economically important large constrictor, accounting for the majority of adverse economic consequences from a listing. USFWS, however, failed to adequately characterize the industry’s scope or recognize the negative economic impacts of this first-time listing of a species widely held as pets.
This rule is an unnecessary federal intrusion into state wildlife management and misuse of the Lacey Act. Listing of these snakes will create felons out of tens of thousands of pet owners, hobbyists and collectors and will destroy small businesses across the country in states where there is zero likelihood of captive-bred snakes establishing themselves in the wild.
A ban on the import and interstate commerce of the remaining five species will have a devastating economic impact. There is absolutely no evidence showing these species to be a threat to public safety and no science to support the fact that these species can become injurious throughout the United States. The only potentially habitable climate lies in extreme southern Florida and the issue has been addressed locally by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Thanks,
NanoTrev
aka Trevor