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RED ALERT: Stop Federal Python BAN!

EricRoscoe

New member
RED ALERT: Stop Federal Python BAN!
This is the final push in the BIG FIGHT to stop the Boa and Python BAN! This BIG FIGHT has been 4 years in the making (since 2008) ... Help USARK put the Python Ban to rest in 2012! Please participate and help the Reptile Nation overcome the most devistating attack the Herp Community has ever faced!! Please read and follow the instructions to ensure your voice is heard by President Obama, the US Congress and the US Senate.

US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) has a proposed rule being considered by the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB). This is the final stage of the rule making process. This rule, if enacted, would ban the import and interstate transport of nine constricting snakes; Burmese python, Northern & Southern African pythons, Reticulated python, all four Anacondas, and Boa constrictor. This rule has been called the "Constrictor Rule". All of these constrictors would be added to the Injurious Wildlife list of the Lacey Act. If this were to happen more than 1 million American citizens could be subject to felony prosecution under the Lacey Act. It is the job of OMB to weigh the purported benefits of the rule against the economic impacts. It is also their duty to assure the rule has been given due process under the Administrative Procedures Act, Information Quality Act and all pertinent Executive Orders. USARK has created a clear public record that FWS has failed at every level to make their case for this rule. According to emails obtained by USARK it appears that staff at FWS colluded with staff at the US Geological Survey (USGS) to manufacture "science" to support this rule making after the decision had already been made to pursue a Lacey Act listing. Further, FWS grossly underestimated the economic impact. USGS has justified their flawed "science" by saying they were not required to adhere to information quality standards for science used to support the rule because the rule did not meet the standard for a major rule making ($100 million). An economic assessment of the Modern Reptile Industry commissioned by USARK, and done by Georgetown Economic Services, has since debunked USGS claims by asserting that the rule could have impact in excess of $103 million. USARK believes the actions of FWS and USGS in regards to the Constrictor Rule are arbitrary, capricious and potentially unlawful.

Please send the letter below to President Obama and your Senators and Congressmen to let them know you are aware of the actions of FWS and the negative impact on you, your family and business. Just follow the simple instructions.

Do it now and share with all your friends, family, social networks, forums and email lists! This is your chance to make a difference and help USARK set a positive precedent for our industry.
united-states-association-of-reptile-keepers.rallycongress.com/5799/no-on-fws-python-rule-bad-american-small-business-families-alread/
 
PLEASE follow the link, sign the petition, take the time to write a letter. USARK provides a fast, simple way to do so. You can use their form letter as is, or edit it to tell them how YOU feel. E-mail is free, sending real letters costs $9.

Here is my letter:

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. President,

I would like to tell you personally how the "Python Ban" would affect me, as well as hundreds of thousands of other Americans. The pet snake industry is huge. For the small breeder who may invest in only a pair of high-quality snakes to large companies employing tens or hundreds of workers, this ban would be financially disastrous. You may not have considered how many industries support the pet snake trade. You have bedding manufacturers, rodent breeders (and the businesses that support rodent breeding!), manufacturers of caging, heating, thermal control, lighting, furnishings. You have the shipping industry ranging from companies who specialize in shipping snakes to companies that provide packaging for doing so: cardboard, styrofoam, heat packs, ice packs. You have the companies that ship snakes across the country, legally. You have computer databases and record-keeping software, websites, designers who specialize in products for snake breeders. If you destroy the snake breeding business, it isn't only the snake breeders who will suffer.

This is how the ban would affect me personally. Although I myself do not breed any of the species that would be banned, I _do_ breed a small species of snake, one of the most popular pet snakes available, the cornsnake. Every year in Florida we have a huge reptile exposition, drawing thousands of people from across the country and around the world. But with the sale of these large snakes prohibited in Florida, people who would have traveled here to see and purchase them stay away. That means they are not here to buy my small pet snakes either. Some breeders, like myself, only go to the one big expo a year. When attendance falls off, less vendors want to sell there. It is a downward spiral.

I am not saying that people should be able to behave irresponsibly with these large animals. We have rules in place in my state, Florida, that govern the proper care and regulation of the large snakes already. The people who follow the letter of the law regarding the keeping of these animals should not be deprived of their livelihood due to bunk science.

President Obama please ask the Office of Management & Budget to turn back this rule due to the failure of Fish & Wildlife to adhere to mandated guidelines and procedures required for a rule making. Policy should be based on facts and science, not opinion or partiality. This rule is in violation of at least three of your own executive orders. This rule is inappropriate on many levels and if passed it will reflect badly on you and your administration.

The Constrictor Rule is a prejudicial, economically damaging, and ineffective rule.

Thank you for your consideration.


CC: US House of Representatives, US Senate
 
Signed.
As an owner of reptiles AND a maligned breed of dog, I absolutely cannot get behind any banning of pets, especially when the owners are responsible, and small businesses and education programs are at stake.
Sensationalism at it's finest. Getting my family and friends to sign, as well.
 
Wow, I can't believe this is so far down the general posts list.. USARK has been needing people to sign the letter.. If you think for an instant this will have no impact on coloubrids, your sadly mistaken... Were next for evasive speicies status.. Sign and send...
 
Come on, guys, let's turn up the pressure! If you haven't done this yet, you need to RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!
 
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