Heads Up Residents in Illinois

[RoseRed]

I a nut shell Bill 2362 would be banning of ownership of all boas and pythons in the state of Illinois. Please email/call the representatives that USHerp provides. Even if you do not live in Illinois, any amount of help is needed. Here is a link to USHerp's page on it,

http://usherp.org/2013/04/25/action-alert-il-sb-2362-passes-the-il-senate/

I'm not going to lie, I cried when I thought of my Anck Su Namun (Brazilian Rainbow Boa) being taken away.

 

[RoseRed]

*An Amendment of Bill 2362

 

[Alli_Draggy]

I hope it at least gets changed so you can keep your boa! Is there anything those of us out of state can do?

I wish law makers would use common sense.Not all boas and pythons are giants. And a complete ban on venomous would seem to include those mildly venomous rear-fanged harmless to humans snakes like hognose and garters, too.

Do the law makers realize that the result would be many, many people having to have their pet snakes killed because there would be no way for rescues to take in and place that many? Or the result to the animal's owners? Kids with ASDs, especially, often can learn a lot of social and reciprocal behavior skills from caring for animals, and since allergies are often part of that package, for many of those kids a Ball Python is the animal of choice. We're talking putting kids in a major emotional crisis because some law maker can't put their fears aside.

It's scary.

 

[Alli_Draggy]

I just sent an e-mail outlining the value of snakes to children with special needs and the impact that taking those pets away will cause to each member of the agricultural committee. I'm also going to share this with some of the parenting and teaching boards I'm on. If I can get it on some of the autism groups, especially, they'll get mail-bombed, because those mommies and daddies don't play.

 

[RoseRed]

I just sent an e-mail outlining the value of snakes to children with special needs and the impact that taking those pets away will cause to each member of the agricultural committee. I'm also going to share this with some of the parenting and teaching boards I'm on. If I can get it on some of the autism groups, especially, they'll get mail-bombed, because those mommies and daddies don't play.

Good job, every bit helps.

I know I corrected myself in an earlier post, but I just want to reiterate, that it is an amendment to the bill that is the problem (not the bill itself). Here is a link to the full text of the bill (I do not believe it includes the amendment), http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=85&GA=98&DocTypeId=SB&DocNum=2362&GAID=12&LegID=&SpecSess=&Session=. I encourage you if you have the time, to read the bill itself. A summary of the amendment is is in the link on my original post (as well as a summary of the bill itself).

 

[Guruofchem]

Makes no sense at all - why lock down species that have zero survivability through the winter even if they escape? And how many breeders go out of business for no justifiable reason? If I were afraid of clowns, that wouldn't give me the right to outlaw clown businesses. Come to think of it, I could probably make a better case for outlawing clowns than I could snake breeding...

 

[Alli_Draggy]

I figure if enough people address different needs, maybe it will be seen as significant. I can't imagine that there aren't breeders and pet stores in IL who depend on snakes and care supplies who won't see an impact to their business, as well as pet owners and parents and even teachers who need allergy-free classroom pets.

Honestly, my gut feeling is that at least one of the people who voted for the bill as amended has a pet at home (or their child does) who is affected-and never realized it. Because the original law is fairly decent and mostly involves restricting hunting to protect native species. It's the amendment that really is bad.

And my gut feeling is that if they're willing to lump all boidae in one group, how long before they outlaw private ownership and breeding of all reptiles in general? It's the typical HSUS anti-pet spiel-and it's working.


The fact is, my pet cat is more likely to cause damage or injury, and is a LOT more likely to escape and cause harm to native flora and fauna than almost any reptile regularly bred and sold in the pet trade. There simply aren't many people buying anacondas, crocodiles and cobras as pets, even without a ban in place.