FWK, I think you misread me a little.
First of all, I never said there should be a ban on any species. I DID say in an earlier post that I personally felt that crocodilians should be made so readily available to the general public, and even gave a very exemptions.
---
Regarding everything else you said...
We can debate rights vs privileges until the cows come home. I know millions of die-hard of Americans who will cling desperately to their Declaration of Independence and their Bill of Rights, and fervently believe those two documents will shield them from anything that oppresses their ability to do or say in this country. I am terribly sorry to burst that naive fantastical little bubble, but it is quite simply not that black and white, nor cut and dry.
Yes, you have freedom of speech. You can walk to any street corner and say whatever your pretty little heart or dirty little mind desires if you choose. However, depending on the circumstances, you may have to pay consequences for what you said. Nobody oppressed you from saying what you said. But you have to answer for what comes out of your mouth (or what gets typed under your username!).
---
Now...as a reptile hobbyist, I'm with you. I know how little of a risk reptiles pose to the general public....just as I know how little of a risk law-abiding gun-owners pose. My fundamental stance is punish the offenders and leave the law-abiding citizens alone. I totally agree outright bans are no-good and completely ineffective.
But some folks are living in a dream world. If you think just because you pay your taxes, and never got a speeding ticket, and your dogs are always on a leash, your lawn is always mowed, and you got the stars and stripes waving in your front yard, Uncle Sam has no right to take away something that ain't a problem to anyone....guess what? I agree with you on a philosophical level. But I'm also a realist. Just because I agree with you on principles does not mean that THEY do! And it isn't going to stop them from taking away whatever they want, because guess what? If it would, why did we get 4 species of constrictors put on the Lacey Act, hmmm? Where did the Declaration of Independence and Bill o' Rights come into play when 9 species of boas and pythons were on the block with USFWS? Apparently your "RIGHTS" can be taken away, Mr. Tax-payer.
And look around, they're not stopping. They're still trying to add 5 more species, and seems like every time we turn around, another state level legislature is popping up. Maybe not every bill goes through, but it does not stop them from trying.
---
Look, I want to keep my herps just like anyone else. But ignoring the facts is folly. I said it in another thread, and I'll say again: legislature threatening our ability to keep herps is going to continue coming down the pike. You have 4 choices on how you're going to deal with it:
- 1) Denial - ignore it or pretend it does not affect you =
- 2) Resignation - rollover and just accept whatever comes, only keeping what is legal = passively unhelpful
- 3) Violation - deliberately disobeying any such law or ordnance that affects you because you feel it is unjust. This really does not help you or the rest of the hobby, because WHEN you inevitably get caught, it makes everyone look bad.
- 4) React - Stay updated with impending and current laws, actively but professionally oppose the unreasonable ones, and lobby for reasonable alternatives for both sides (compromise?) - [BTW, this is my option]
Sorry, the free America that existed 40+ yrs ago does not exist anymore. I wish it did, but it does not. You can go hunker down in your snake room basement, and clutch your shotgun, thinking "They can take my pythons over my dead body!"....or you can crawl out of your hole, stop whining whether you really are entitled own a reptile as you do an education, and actually get an involved with a herp club somewhere. If there's not one around, start one. That's what I did. They're actually kinda fun. You go and meet and interact with REAL reptile people in person (at least once monthly) and educate the general public, and also set goals like revising city or state-level ordinances to beat back stuff like this. It sure beats sharing photos on social media and arguing on forums.
Threaded Mode