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Vinny, my point with my past few posts was that just mentioning something is enough to take things off on a tangent that you may not have expected, and probably don't want. IE, mentioning an envenomation plan...sure every hot keeper should have one, but if it is made "mandatory", then it just begs for further control. That might turn into having to present said plan when applying for the permit. That means somebody should be looking at it...and if somebody is looking at it, they probably have the power to approve or deny it. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but it opens things up for difficulties because there are practically unlimited reasons to deny applications.
While it is certainly preferable to be proactive, and lay the groundwork for a reasonable and fair permit system BEFORE some legislator gets a bee in his/her bonnet, you still need to think everything out thoroughly. Enlist the aid of state herpetological organizations, retailers, hobbiests, etc. Don't expect alot of support, because nobody wants the government sticking its nose in our lives, hobby, livelihood. A common, and very real concern is that somebody will see this as their ticket to something bigger. If they can "protect" the good people of Pennsylvania from the menace posed by venomous reptiles in captivity, they can make a name for themselves. Other legislators will hesitate to oppose such a bill/regulation because it makes sense on paper...think about it - how does one justify maintaining venomous reptiles in their home? It is a tough argument to make, and most of the ones people come up with can be easily turned around to justify regulation. (if you say that there are approximately 3200 people in PA keeping venomous reptiles, and there have only been 3 bites in the last 5 years they will say: "OMG! There are 3200 people keeping venomous reptiles...this represents a huge threat to the people." If you tell them there are fewer than 200 people keeping them, they will say: If that little of the population will be affected, there is no reason NOT to regulate these dangerous animals. The keeping of venomous reptiles is clearly an abberancy, and we should discourage the potential growth of this segment")
As I said, I have been involved with this sort of thing at both the state and local levels. When the bill against venomous reptiles was passed in NYS, the law was turned over to DEC for regulation. I was one of those selected to help design the regulations. It seems that all that was wasted because a new law seems to have overridden the old one...I have been unable to get any response about the availability of venomous permits under the new law (I guess I should make that call again, lol)
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