# Pet Legislation (split from UMC mouse show)



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Stina said:


> There are sometimes gerbils there...but not always.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah. Speaking of crazy animal laws. . . Have you heard about the python ban? :|


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

its not an outright ban....but it is bs. Technically it prohibits importation of 4 species (which doesn't affect much) and their crossing of state lines (which is a MAJOR issue).....so not cool


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

God...don't even go there. I hate the HSUS so bad! I even made a shirt about it to wear to the pet expo. 








I had it printed and it's in the mail. They backed the "scientific" information and the bill. 
I don't own any burms or rocks, but they are talking about adding boa constrictors to the list and that is just crazy! No human has EVER been killed by a boa, and mine are lovely pets who are great for presentations to children and the elderly. It's a huge battle. I am a member of USARK and Iherp and we are fightly strongly to stop the influence of this animal rights group! Blah. I have tons of great links and info if anyone wants to know more!


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## Shadowrunner (Sep 26, 2011)

They tried to ban the Quaker parakeets and the conures if I remember correctly.
The bird club people nearly crapped bricks.
I could understand the pythons if we were talking about Florida and the overrun everglades..but this is excessive.

(and thanks for that info, I'll probably bring a few of my guys then..just as soon as I figure out who.)


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## mouselover01 (Nov 1, 2011)

I have always had burmese pythons and reticulated pythons. I have always admired rocks and anaconda and wanted them.

I was going to breed boas. I had th moonglow and dh snows, and other morphs before I moved. I wanted to get more snakes when I got here, now, if I ever want to move with my snakes, i have to break the law. *sigh*


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I -really- don't see what interstate transport of snakes is going to hurt. 
It's just another stupid law, that makes someone, somewhere, money.


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

It won't hurt a soul to transport them across state lines. But it does give the people in politics something to say they did to "save America". They can point and remind us of the 2 year old that died because some idiot who was keeping an illegal snake anyway did not secure it properly, and say See...I fixed that. Vote for me! And most of mainstream America will belive him and thank them for saving their children (who were never at risk to begin with).


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

My view is, that if you take all of the captive snake deaths in the US and multiply them by 100, you still don't have the same number as how many dog deaths occured in the same period of time.

How many 2 year olds have been killed by pittbulls? Why aren't we banning the interstate transport of DOGS then?

Frustrating. :x


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

I think it's BS as well. Thankfully my snake isn't on the list, but if they change it to ALL constrictors or boas, she will be. She's a sand boa. Can you even GET any more harmless? I got bit the other day and it didn't even hurt. I had a few teeny marks and was fine, and it was due to her missing some prey.

What it basically comes down to is snakes are easy prey for legislation- many people don't like snakes, and although there's a lot of people who do, there's money to be made by satisfying the snake-haters. More people opposed a ban of birds, and people would riot over anything with dogs, but the media has portrayed snakes as bad so that's supposed to make it ok.

I think we ought to ban idiots, not snakes. I personally want to get into larger species when I get older and have time and space for them, but I won't be able to now.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Things that kill more people than constrictors annually.

1. Obesity- 30,000 people annually
2. Lightning- 10,000
3. Texting- 6,000
4. Hippos- 2,900
5. Airplanes- 1,200
6. Volcanoes- 845
7. Auto-erotic asphyxiation- 600
8. Shopping on black friday- 550
9. Falling out of bed- 450 (just in the U.S.)
10. Bathtubs- 340
11. Deer- 130
12. Icicles- 100 (just in Russia)
13. Hotdogs 70 (children alone)
14. Tornadoes- 60
15. Jellyfish- 40
16. Dogs- 40 people (just in the U.S.)
17. Ants- 30
18. Highschool football- 20
19. Vending machines- 13
20. Rollercoasters- 6

Constrictors? . . . .5
Not even a whole person. :lol:


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com ... verglades/

This is why that sort of thing applies to boas. For everything else, I have no idea what they could possibly have been thinking. Unfortunately, banning idiots would just mean you have to have a permit to have a snake, and that would be utterly unacceptable.


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## Shadowrunner (Sep 26, 2011)

OMG how do you get killed by a vending machine? xD

Thanks for the link, that's exactly what I was talking about earlier.
Watching swamp wars on animal plant will give you an idea of how bad it is, but at the same time
these things happen naturally. They could have been blown into Florida by a hurricane, no one even knows.
It's ridiculous. Kind of like in Maryland with the wild ponies.
They are treated as a native species but before people came over, horses had been extinct 
for thousands of years in north America.
It doesn't make any sense.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Laigaie said:


> http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2009/09/06/pythons_in_florida_everglades/
> 
> This is why that sort of thing applies to boas. For everything else, I have no idea what they could possibly have been thinking. Unfortunately, banning idiots would just mean you have to have a permit to have a snake, and that would be utterly unacceptable.


If that's the reason they want the ban, then why don't they only make it illegal to transport into FL?


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

Because the more specific you make a piece of legislation, the less likely it is that it will actually be enforced. That sucks, and is stupid, and it's also true in the reverse, which is what got the thread started in the first place, but it's also true. People are dumb. This is a fact that must be worked around in public policy.


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

Number one the VAST majority of those everglades pythons died in a winter freeze last winter. People have had a hard time even finding ONE lately. 
Number two, it is awful to punish the entire country when only one state could have a problem. ALL states have a problem with feral cats but they aren't banned anywhere. 
Number three, all the snakes captured in studies we given DNA tests and were proven to be descended from an importer who's facility was destroyed during a hurricane. Not turned loose pets. Not animals being shipped from Florida to Maryland. So why not ban importing from other countries? 
So truthfully this law does nothing but hurt exotic pet keepers. It gives the HSUS incentive to keep pushing for these damaging laws. It's awful.

Oh and don't mind my post...it's something I am very passionate about. I hate animal rights groups. Pardon my enthusiasm. Please don't misunderstand it as rudeness!


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

HSUS is full of crud, IMO. The name is very misleading and they will do anything to make it hard to own pets.

Nevermind that responsible owners won't let large snakes hurt people.

Also. I think a permit would be reasonable, at least in areas where there are risks of snakes being invasive. It would apply only to potentially problematic species. Elsewhere, perhaps a low annual fee for large snakes (that could pose a danger to small pets, or to young children. I know how rare it is for accidents to happen when people are responsible, BUT, legislators don't.), requiring the snake to be somehow tagged and registered to the owner, like a microchip. That way, any owner who's being an idiot, can't own snakes anymore. You let your 20 foot snake get out and kill babies, and you don't get another one.


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## mouselover01 (Nov 1, 2011)

I swear I've seen the same Burmese python and alligator pics since '05


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

MoonfallTheFox said:


> I think a permit would be reasonable, at least in areas where there are risks of snakes being invasive. It would apply only to potentially problematic species. ... requiring the snake to be somehow tagged and registered to the owner, like a microchip.


That is already true in Florida. To own a big snake you must have a permit (which you get by having an inspection and an annual fee) and your snakes must all be microhiped. Unfortunatly the idiot who allowed his snake to kill his 2 year old was already a criminal. He was breaking the law. He did not have a permit nor was his snake microchipped. 
My partner and I went down to Florida that year and took in a 3 year old negected burm that had also been kept illegally. We got him healthy and rehomed him with experienced keepers. Unfortuntly laws like this don't stop the criminals. Just like gun control doesn't work, big snake control won't work either.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

> It's just another stupid law, that makes someone, somewhere, money.


I don't see how it could make anyone money....it'll be a lot of wasted money trying to enforce it, and a lot of lost economy from people who would have spent money on the snakes, their supplies, and feeding them.....


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