Spectacular Radio Show on Keeper's Rights & Fights

Hi Everyone,
I don't usually post all of our shows (there are alot on our website) but I thought this one in particular would be of interest for those concerned with current legislative threats.

It's a 2-hr show so clean some cages or listen in the car but guests include Tom Crutchfield, Carl Person, Robbie Kezsey of "Swamp Brothers" and a hidden gem in our hobby Terry Wilkins. This is a "must listen" show for those concerned with our hobby, I promise.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/urbanju...om-crutchfield

Danny Mendez
UrbanJunglesRadio.com

Hey Danny,
Although I wanted to say I enjoyed the show, and everyone made valid points, and this Terry Wilkins sounds intriguing... I found some pretty extensive "Bad Guy" threads right here on the BOI, other various news articles, etc that don't paint him as the best character to represent us. At first I was all for him, and the passionate nature in which he spoke, until I ran a Google search on his name. I had NO idea who he was and other listeners are buying into him. It doesn't look good at all, given his track record with his animals and apparently the law.

I DO think some good points were made on all sides and that it is ultimately a combination of factors that will take us to where we want to be.

I just ask that you do more of a thorough background on someone you think would be a good person to represent the hobby. LOTS of people make good points and can draw a good debate, but that doesn't make them the best person to represent an entire body of people.

-Rachel

Rachel,
I am aware of Terry's reputation and I have no regrets putting him on the show. He is a vital ingredient to examining this issue from all angles as he brings up some compelling arguments, valid points, and has had a unique perspective on the hobby from a legislative perspective. Love him or hate him it's worth a listen.

There's no one out there right now representing our hobby that is spotless, for now it's a matter of getting as much info as you can and making a decision.

PS- I don't choose anyone to represent our hobby. I just provide a microphone and an international audience.

Danny,

You have to be aware that is being talked about having him represent at least a portion of us after the segment was aired. I do believe that everyone has a right to talk, but when I didn't know who this guy was- and I myself was even throwing him praises- and found some VERY damaging ammo that could be used against us, I had to eat that praise.

Perhaps if you have him on in the future you can inquire as to why his business seems to have suffered, and why those animals mentioned on the numerous threads here, and elsewhere by multiple accounts were kept in sub-par conditions.

Again, I think it is the combination of ideas and techniques in our arsenal that haven't been used yet that is going to gain us some ground. Not just one very motivated person who speaks charismatically, regulation, science, or self policing alone.

Also, I am well aware that you don't choose who represents us on the legal and legislative front. Fair enough.
However, you have a radio show with a very large base of listeners within the community and their credibility be taken into consideration. That is your responsibility, indeed!
I had to eat my words last night. He is a breath of fresh air to listen to, but after learning what I have about him through a simple search, I can also smell garbage downwind.

Once you throw your hat into the ring of politics, no matter what level, you then have to expect that all the doors to your closets with skeletons in them will be thrown open for public inspection. And certainly the opposition will use those skeletons as ammunition against you to try to strengthen their own position by weakening your credibility. The opposition will HIRE people specifically to dig into your past to find and USE those skeletons to their advantage.

In my personal opinion, I believe that it would be suicide for this industry to have anyone with a criminal record of any sort to act as a representative of EVERYONE in this industry. The presumption will be, of course, that that person IS representative of the majority of the people engaging in this business. In all respects related to personal, business, and LEGAL aspects.

And for God's sake, please don't choose anyone who has ever been a past winner of any of the tattoo contests that some reptile shows have run.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

Once you throw your hat into the ring of politics, no matter what level, you then have to expect that all the doors to your closets with skeletons in them will be thrown open for public inspection. And certainly the opposition will use those skeletons as ammunition against you to try to strengthen their own position by weakening your credibility. The opposition will HIRE people specifically to dig into your past to find and USE those skeletons to their advantage.

In my personal opinion, I believe that it would be suicide for this industry to have anyone with a criminal record of any sort to act as a representative of EVERYONE in this industry. The presumption will be, of course, that that person IS representative of the majority of the people engaging in this business. In all respects related to personal, business, and LEGAL aspects.

And for God's sake, please don't choose anyone who has ever been a past winner of any of the tattoo contests that some reptile shows have run.

Exactly. Thank you.

Don't get me wrong. I WAS all for what this guy was saying on the show. I agree that we do need to act more aggressively with these legislators. We elected them into office and they use our tax dollars to perform a job that is supposed to protect us and our personal freedoms. He is right about not rolling over when these AR activists feed our politicians their lies under the guise of being "experts".

I did a simple Google search on Mr. Wilkins and BAD things were on the top of the first page: several BOI threads, hints of a criminal background, money owed to the government, it goes on and on. It did not paint a good picture for me. He's a very good motivator. So what? Aren't most criminals persuasive in that aspect?

The problem with having him speak on the show isn't so much of what he said, but that by giving him free reign to speak without many people knowing who he was, there was this wholesome picture painted of him. A picture that sounded very nice to a lot of listeners (including myself) that made us think "Hey, what about THIS guy? Apparently HE gets results! He might be great to represent us!" If you knew as much about him before hand, I think you at least hold the responsibility of not letting your listeners know the background of Mr. Wilkins so his statements could be judged and weighed more clearly.

While I know that you can't please all your viewers with the guests you choose, because ultimately, they are not all of a "squeaky clean" background. Many dislike certain people in this hobby and I agree that has to stop. However many of those others have been in this industry long enough to lend a good degree of credibility to their statements. I did NOT see that kind of credibility from doing a check on Mr. Wilkins. I saw BAD advice given to customers on repeated occasions, the criminal record, you name it.

Sometimes, it's not about what we WANT to hear, and the truth can be cruel. Myself and others had to eat our good statements that we made last night upon seeing the background of this person- which hurts YOUR credibility as well.

Rachel,
If you take a look back on the roster of guests we've had over the years...I think you'll agree they are the TOP names, there are also many names that were unheard of and some I'd like to forget. Overall, I think I can easily say that none of our shows are boring. There's a reason for that, we like to hear everyone out and offer varying perspectives with no agenda.

Last night's guests offered us unexpected and welcome insights that many of us welcome not having. But they are important none the less. Tom Crutchfield has watched this industry evolve, you say he fathered it. Terry Wilkins has seen the legislative side from all angles both as someone working for the government and someone working against it. These gentlemen offered incredible and sometimes opposing insight but overall they came to the same conclusion. We need to do something NOW, and we need to do something TOGETHER. If I ruled out criminal pasts we would have missed out on both these gentlmen's moving testimonies and so I have no regrets in choosing my guests for the show regardless of their backgrounds.

At a time when our hobby is dying, I need to put as much information our there to arm you with. I try to provide facts and first hands accounts and you then arm yourself to go to war. Choose whatever beliefs you have but just choose something.

And if you agree with anyone we have or have any other information to offer you are always welcome to leave a message on our voicemail at 847-UJR-ROX5

We like to hear everyone out, then weed out all the crazy people.

**And if I excluded bad reptile tatoos Rich, the show wouldn't have a host and a good portion of it's top guests.
I was 17 ok?

I am not saying I disagreed with the message these gentleman brought to light last night. It was basically the same message, said in different ways.

We ALL know about Tom's past and most have come to accept it and that he has moved on. He is definitely one of the grandfathers of our industry. Aside from the message, and the criminal background there is a LOT of difference between Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Crutchfield. Many will agree that Tom has "paid his dues" so to speak with his contributions to the hobby and by staying out of trouble over the years. He has bred more species for the first time than any other person I can think of, and has managed to remain on the forefront and is generally a respected person in this hobby.

Going by the posts here, alone, Mr. Wilkins has an entirely different image. He sells animals in sub-par conditions, to the wrong people under the wrong circumstances. Why? Because there are NO standards set forth in the state of Ohio stating the conditions of a sale of such an animal. He is vocal about keeping it that way, because that is his business. NOTHING I have read on him has dictated otherwise! I wish I could say there was something positive! He definitely represents the extreme NO REGULATION stance on the hobby.

All we are implying here is that sometimes you do get the WRONG person in the spotlight. He had a lot of beautiful things to say, and many of them were right, but at the end of the day he still has the same muddy reputation. We already know that a lot of hard political battles are won by the "bad guys". However, it does not make any him less unscrupulous because he appears to be on OUR side.

While most people are apt to come up with their own conclusions based on what they hear out of the mouths of other people, it is apparent to me that some listeners do not do any more research beyond what is said, particularly on who is saying it. They hear what they want to hear and run with it.

Another thing that is disconcerting to me is that you are providing listeners with the links to his organization on your FaceBook for people to donate to, when in all reality those same people asking for it would RUN the other way if they had done the simple search on Mr. Wilkins myself and others have. There is a reason he is not getting the money he is needing to get it off the ground- because there is probably not a whole lot of trust there. Would you give him money after reading those things?

Overall, yes, it was a good show. It brought to light most subjects we have been talking about as keepers from all angles- self regulation, government regulation, fighting harder against our legislators, and whatever new tactics can be employed in our battle.

I really did like the show, but I have a hard time coming to grips that a person who has gained most of his notoriety giving out FALSE information with a criminal record is given air time because he is supposedly on "our" side. It was hard finding the many political battles he has supposedly won under all the dirt he has kicked up under his business name!

Never before on the show, in all the episodes I have listened to have I ever encountered a name with such bad press associated with it being construed as some sort of role model because he knows how to boss around politicians. I realize you did not do that intentionally by your above statements, and believe viewers, for the most part are going to sort the facts out by ourselves. While that is true for most of us, it is certainly not true for others.

Let me tell you that I have bossed my own local politicians around. It is NOT hard to make them see eye to eye with you if you SHOW UP and don't take no for an answer, especially if you show up with friends... and your friends' friends. Empowering people, like Terry did on the show was a good thing. However, that is what some of us have been doing for a long time. I'm active in the dog rescue circuit, with pit bulls. I've had to get up on the podium a couple of times to defend the breed or to put forth suggestions for a better ordinance. The first time I did it, I was 17 and very scared. However, just because Terry showed up at several hearings being the lone Representative as a reptile keeper in no way makes him qualified to be one. Just like the opposition, whoever is loud enough and persistent enough will get the prize, and often times money is involved. Make a threat about money and it's on! It doesn't matter how misconstrued the facts are or how much they actually do know. Doesn't the HSUS prove that on a regular basis?

Maybe the reptile community can take a hint from the pit bull community. They are both hopelessly divided among each other (by matter of opinion) and have the same enemy we do... the AR extremist groups. They certainly don't let anyone with profound criminal background speak out for them!

All of us are being inspected by a fine tooth comb here. Better to err on the side of caution than to possibly stick your foot in your mouth and promote someone who should not be promoted- no matter how good the intention.

Most of this is directed at the viewers who became enamored by last night's show, but did NOT know about Terry Wilkins' bad business practices. Those very people might be sending him money when they can get out and do what he is doing with a little self education and mostly for free.