• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

URGENT: Senate Panel approves Python ban, S373

ArpeggioAngel said:
I signed up on that open congress website. But every time I try to vote, it makes me log in again and is not registering my vote nor letting me "write to my senator". It is a perpetual loop of login/back to home page/try to vote/login again.
Click to expand...
Had the same problem. Refresh the S373 page.
 
Kokopelli said:
could anyone please explain to me how close is this ban to taking effect?
I don't know how legislation goes in the US... it's different here.
Click to expand...

I can't really explain it to you, but maybe someone else will pop in soon that can do a good job of it.
 
Great news!

I just read over on KS that almost 17K has been raised for the reward for conviction of the person responsible for the release of the Tampa python. The group has already let Florida FWC know about the reward. Not only might this give herpers some good publicity to show that we don't approve of such releases, but if we are really lucky, it might even prove (in a court of law) that it was not a herper who let it loose, but an enemy bent on destroying us. Not sure if that will come to pass, but it is worth a try.

Here is a link to the discussion if you are interested. Read the last post for the latest info on donations:
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1767804,1767804
 
I last took civics class back in about 1969 in high school, but this is what I remember (correct me if I am wrong - it has been a while, lol!)

It still has a long way to go, and will probably morph into something different than it is now if it does pass. Both the Senate and House have to pass identical versions, so that means after each passes their own version, they have to get together to decide what compromise they can both pass. At some point, I believe it has to be published in the Congressional Record to give the public time to comment. Then, after the same exact bill is passed by both Senate and House of Representatives, it goes to the President, who can sign it into law, veto it, or let it sit around for a while without doing anything, in which case it will eventually become law.

So it has some time and places to go before becoming law.
 
kathylove said:
I just read over on KS that almost 17K has been raised for the reward for conviction of the person responsible for the release of the Tampa python. The group has already let Florida FWC know about the reward. Not only might this give herpers some good publicity to show that we don't approve of such releases, but if we are really lucky, it might even prove (in a court of law) that it was not a herper who let it loose, but an enemy bent on destroying us. Not sure if that will come to pass, but it is worth a try.

Here is a link to the discussion if you are interested. Read the last post for the latest info on donations:
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1767804,1767804
Click to expand...
Kathy is that related to this article on Fauna?:
Trapper Admits Python Hoax
By Tom Palmer
THE LEDGER

Published: Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 3:14 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 3:14 p.m.

LAKELAND | Justin Matthews’ account of capturing a 14-foot Burmese python gave him 15 minutes of fame last month in the opening days of a statewide anti-python campaign.

Trapper Justin Matthews is shown with the 14-foot python he claimed to have captured last month.

Thursday he got his 15 minutes of infamy at a press conference convened by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission after wildlife officials concluded the whole thing was staged.

Matthews, owner of Matthews Wildlife Rescue in Bradenton, apologized Thursday for staging the event.

He reported capturing the python in a utility pipe near a daycare center July 25.

In fact, the snake was one he had purchased legally a month before from Southeast Reptile Exchange in Tampa, said Wildlife Commission spokesman Gary Morse.

Morse said Matthews’ story unraveled Wednesday after he admitted to a Wildlife Commission investigator that he had faked the capture.

Wildlife Commission investigators had been alerted to the possibility Matthews’ story was a hoax shortly after the incident was publicized, Morse said.

Matthews told Bay News 9 that he had bought the snake, which he called Sweetie, at a Tampa reptile store and then staged the capture, saying the snake was found in a culvert in Bradenton.

He said the staging was part of a plan to educate the public about the python problem.

Matthews said, when the original owner who sold the snake to the reptile store saw his snake on the news, he contacted the Wildlife Commission.

“I do want to apologize to anybody that thinks this was wrong, what I did,” Matthews told Bay News 9. “To me, I’ll never do it again but as is turns out, like I say, I’m getting more calls, and I did raise awareness by doing this.”

Morse said the case is still under investigation and no charges have been filed.

Morse said he doesn’t expect Matthews will be charged with allowing the snake to escape since it appeared to have been under his control throughout the entire incident.

However, he may be charged with not having implanted a microchip into the snake, though Morse acknowledged state law is vague regarding how soon the chip must be installed.

Violation of that law is a second-degree misdemeanor, Morse said. Second-degree misdemeanors carry a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Morse would not speculate on Matthews’ motive in the incident.

He said Matthews has previously had a good reputation as a state-licensed reptile trapper and had rendered good service.

Matthews’ trapping license is not in danger of revocation as a result of the incident, Morse said.

Florida wildlife officials launched a campaign earlier this summer to allow licensed trappers to capture Burmese pythons in the wilds of South Florida.

The campaign was launched after a pet python escaped from its cage and killed a child in Sumter County and as a result of growing concerns about the effects of a wild population in the Everglades on native wildlife.

The exact size of Florida’s python population is unknown, but is estimated to number in the thousands.

Morse said, despite the Sumter County incident, pythons are generally not a threat to humans, though they are large and potentially dangerous animals.

The main threat continues to be to native wildlife, he said.

[ Tom Palmer can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7535. Bay News 9 contributed to this report. ]
__________________
Click to expand...
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143094
 
No, this is ANOTHER Burm...

The one the reward is aimed at happened more recently, and nobody knows who it belonged to, or who released it.

I wouldn't be surprised if some non herpers have intentionally released more than one exotic to aid their cause. I am especially suspicious of some of the recent African rock and anaconda discoveries. It is a difficult thing to prove. But the offer of reward might cause a friend or acquaintance to "snitch" on the culprit.
 
kathylove said:
The one the reward is aimed at happened more recently, and nobody knows who it belonged to, or who released it.

I wouldn't be surprised if some non herpers have intentionally released more than one exotic to aid their cause. I am especially suspicious of some of the recent African rock and anaconda discoveries. It is a difficult thing to prove. But the offer of reward might cause a friend or acquaintance to "snitch" on the culprit.
Click to expand...
I could easily see PETA ( or even HSUS) doing this, there is a great deal of money and notoriety at stake for both of these organizations.
 
Emily1188 said:
Hey, I'm getting ready to contact my senators, which is better: a call, an email, or snail mail?
Click to expand...

Best -- gets most attention from Senators -- SNAIL mail, PLUS a phone call if you can. Senators' offices figure people who write a personal snail letter are really interested in the topic, and people who call, even more so.
 
My mouse pusher sent out an email with a good copy-and-paste letter than I have sent to the whitehouse. I also have sent it out with a plea to almost everyone I know.
 
Donations for the reward...

are up to $18,400! Maybe that will be enough to persuade somebody to talk! Even if it is a negligent herper, at least we will show that other herpers don't support such behavior. But if it is a non herper with an agenda, it sure would be a great discovery for our side!
 
I emailed Cardin twice...no response. Emailed Mikulski once; she wrote back with a somewhat generic sounding "thank you for contacting me" response.
 
cornspot said:
I emailed Cardin twice...no response. Emailed Mikulski once; she wrote back with a somewhat generic sounding "thank you for contacting me" response.
Click to expand...

In the same vein as this, I e-mailed both of my senators a few days ago. (I believe it was last Thursday or Friday) Today, I got an e-mail from one of my senators (Pat Roberts) that my e-mail was received, and that he would be in touch with me as soon as possible. The other one (Brownback) hasn't responded at all. Hopefully they listen and vote against it.
 
I just received an e-mail from USARK. It's very interesting, and definitely encouraging that the US Chamber of Commerce is opposing it. I was surprised to see that the reptile industry is a $3 Billion a year industry. Here's the full message:

US Chamber of Commerce Opposes S373

WILMINGTON, NC, December 16--In a letter addressed to the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works the US Chamber of Commerce takes a position opposing S. 373 that echoes the position of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers. The bill ostensibly written to address the issue of feral Burmese pythons in the Everglades is overreaching and circumvents the scientific listing process called for by the Lacey Act through the US Fish & Wildlife Service.


USARK believes that Burmese pythons have been sensationalized in the media and S. 373 has become overly politicized. USARK president Andrew Wyatt stated, “I don’t think there is any doubt that the Humane Society of the United States is trying to highjack this bill and use it as a tool to destroy the trade in high quality captive bred reptiles”. The HSUS has a long standing ideological position opposing all reptiles in captivity. They have lobbied extensively to pass as broad a version of S. 373 as possible.


As written, S. 373 would not achieve its stated goal of addressing the problem of feral pythons in the Everglades. It would, however, have a tremendous impact on the trade of captive bred reptiles in the US and abroad including a number of pythons and Boa constrictor. The trade in captive bred reptiles is a $3 billion a year industry and US exports account for 82% of trade worldwide. S. 373 if passed would be devastating. Thousands of jobs would be lost and scores of small family owned businesses would be bankrupted.


The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, opposes S. 373. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, “if enacted in its current form, this legislation would adversely impact tens of thousands of businesses”. The Chamber goes on to state that, “If, however, Congress intends to pass a ban to limit the import of the Burmese Python, then it is essential that the proposed ban be drafted as narrowly as possible”.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top