Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Schultz
Are you kidding me??? Having a small burden of proof for calling out a company on some hobbyist-run good guy/bad guy forum is one thing. But having that same shaky evidence and using it to call USFW and potentially cost us MORE rules regarding interstate trade? Because your shitty $10 wc water snake developed some blisters in your care, after being in captivity for weeks/months? How about no. Please and Thank you.
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Take a deep breath Mike. First of all, my water snakes cost $3.00, not $10.00. And they were not wild caught, nor are they "shitty". At least not anymore than any other Nerodia.
Seriously, if you stop hyperventilating and read, I'm not "calling out some company" and I'm not presenting "shaky evidence" to FWS or anyone else. I'm here trying to gather evidence that might help us better understand the threat of SFD to both wild and captive snakes, and to better understand the role places like Underground Reptiles play in that threat.
I understand there are some people who don't trust the government to make reasonable rules regarding wildlife ownership. I'm not one of them.
What I experienced with Underground, and the subsequent reading I did on the subject indicated to me that there *might* be a problem. All I'm trying to do is gather evidence that will help clarify the threat - if there is one.
All the agencies I've talked to have been very aware of the potential for this problem occurring. So believe me, any role I or the BOI plays will be insignificant. But if anything I do can help keep our native herp population safe from an emerging potentially lethal disease - even in a small way - I'll sure be glad to do it.
If I have to take some grief from people who put their own narrow, selfish interests ahead of the well-being of thousands or millions of wild herps, I guess I'm a big enough guy to handle that too.