“We’re spiteful and irresponsible, help us!”
August 25th, 2009 by admin
It has been interesting to watch the pet industry respond to proposed legislation to stop the import and interstate transport of pythons and other potentially-dangerous reptiles. One unusual response has been the not-so-vieled threats against the snakes and Florida’s fragile environment.
Last week, Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino spoke with Andrew Wyatt, a python breeder and president of the U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers. Wyatt is concerned that legislation banning sales across state lines would put python breeders out of business. If that happened, Wyatt suggested that breeders wouldn’t know what to do with their inventory. “There’s no telling what some of those people might do with those snakes,” he said.
Marshall Meyers, CEO of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, another group of breeders and pet store owners concerned about their profits, told the Tampa Tribune that a ban on pythons, “could cause pet shop owners, breeders and importers to kill or dump large numbers of them into the wild.”
In essence, these organizations are saying, “Save the python breeding industry! Because if you don’t, we’re going to make you regret it!”
We doubt these threats will intimidate politicians.
You Can Help
On September 8, Congress will return from its August recess. If you haven’t already done so, please contact your U.S. Representative and urge her or him to support H.R. 2811, which would halt the import and interstate transport of Burmese and African rock pythons, two of the world’s largest species of snakes. (Florida U.S. Representatives Hastings, Meek, Rooney, Wasserman Schultz and Wexler have already signed-on as cosponsors of the legislation.) Learn more about the legislation here. To find your U.S. Representative, go to www.house.gov and fill in your nine-digit zip code in the box at the top left corner.