Inquiry USARK/Andrew Wyatt, What's the story?

[Yogi Bear]

All the people who are wringing their hands about how horrible this is for the hobby need to ask themselves what they would have done in Ken's shoes. They can thank two people for this mess - Erika and Andrew. Blaming Ken and the people who supported him is pathetic.

I'm sure, hand wringers, if it was your good name being smeared, you'd have done the same thing........and you would want the community to support you.

An individual can work hard over his entire lifetime to build and retain a good reputation and name. When allegations of the type that were thrown at Ken come about, it can have lifelong negative effects on one's reputation and family members. Those that created this farce and/or helped in "spreading the word" would never just sit back and let this all go away if the shoe were on the other foot. (Note how quickly Justin made a YouTube video in a weak attempt to "tell" his side of the story so quickly. He is already feeling the pressure, but Ken has been having to deal with this for a long time now).

I am not a breeder or associated with any of the organizations or people that have been mentioned in this thread. I am just a critter-loving person who reads these threads for information that can be helpful to me towards making future purchases to add to my animal family. Even so, the false allegations towards Ken has deeply saddened me.

I truly hope that the reptile community will support Ken, and not derail their efforts in that support because of what "others" may think of them. The right thing to do would be to stand behind the person that has been wronged and to do what you can, if anything, to help make it right.

Ken continues to handle this situation with professionalism, class, dignity, and great self-control. My hat is off to him!! Many of you, including myself, would probably be handling this in a much different fashion if it were your life history and/or false allegations towards you under scrutiny of this type.

 

[rodneynboalich]

if any usark board members would like to come on here and discuss with me the issues in PA i would be more then happy to talk to them. maybe warren both would like to talk to me about what usark plans to do about wyatt lying and taking money under false pretenses from people in my state. and also the PAARK issues

 

[rodneynboalich]

warren both does PAARK have the support of usark like they claim. also did usark support paark's president larry kenton, when he lied to PA show owners trying to get me thrown out of the show.

 

[Warren_Booth]

your friends with bagnal and bob and brian bottom line. there are few happier then me that wyatt lost his job. but what has usark done about wyatt breaking the law in my state. ken you got of easy as far as im concerned. wyatt secretly set up an entire organization PA to get back at me. and usarks board has done nothing about it. PAARk is what wyatt helped set up here. the president lied and tried to get me kicked out of the PA hamburg show. all the while PAARk is claiming to be supported by usark. and what was bagnal thinking bringing another one of his employees. is bagnal really that much of and idiot that he dosnt realize how bad that looks to make an employee the new president of usark.

Rodney,
I would like to state that Gary Bagnall did not bring in one of his employees to fill the president position. Phil Goss approached USARK expressing interest in the position. He is leaving a very lucrative position in ZooMed that he has held for a long time. He is highly respected by the herp community for what he has done with that company. His decision to apply for the position at USARK was not in any ways associated or influenced by Gary Bagnall, it was a personal decision. I am extremely happy to see Phil in this position. He is a nice, NORMAL, human being, with no sense of superiority. He will do a great job under the guidance of the board and our lobbyist and law firm.

As far as what Andrew has done you state, that is something we cannot comment on. I have no information regarding that, and with Wyatt out of USARK I am not sure what you would expect us to do. What is your suggestion?

Dr. Warren Booth

 

[Warren_Booth]

Rodney,
One more thing. The board has no information regarding Wyatt "lying and taking money under false pretenses from people in my state", as a result, I cannot comment on that at all. Sorry. The board is just now coming to grips with getting USARK under board control, and operating smoothly. It is doing just that.

Any communications you have had with Andrew Wyatt should be considered just that. They have not come through the board. Communications now do that. All emails are sent to board members for review and to be addressed.

One thing I would request, is that any emails that are sent, are polite and respectful to the people that will be reading them. Obscenities, or personal attacks will be deleted immediately. The board do not get paid for this job, we do this for free as we are dedicated to the personal ownership, breeding, and sale of reptiles and amphibians.

I will try and pop in her later. I am in the middle of writing a lecture for tomorrow, working on a manuscript, guiding my students in my lab, and planning a house move for Friday. Therefore be patient if the response is not immediate.

Thank you,

 

[rodneynboalich]

haha so did garys other employee join usarks board because he showed interest or was it to help keep track of wyatts spending.

now you said in an interview not long ago that usark had someone in mind for the president job. was phil that person or was it someone else. now you say phil is leaving a very lucrative position in zoomed. will phil be making more money as usark president then he is making working for bagnal.

keep in mind you did say usark had someone in mind in an interview. so now here your saying phil approached usark. if phil was not the person usark had in mind then who was. since it would have to of been someone else if phil was not hand picked by bagnal and phil had approached usark like you say.

also how many potentional new presidents was usarks board looking at. what was the criteria people would have to meet for being the new president of usark. and what about phil stood out from the rest of the potential new usark presidents.

or was there no other potential new usark presidents.

as for what i expect usark to do about what PAARk is directly addressing them and their actions. PAARK is claiming to be supported by usark. so when they are lying about me and trying to get me thrown out of shows and usark is backing them i have an issue with usarks lack of concern.

so what does usark plan to do about this.

Rodney,
I would like to state that Gary Bagnall did not bring in one of his employees to fill the president position. Phil Goss approached USARK expressing interest in the position. He is leaving a very lucrative position in ZooMed that he has held for a long time. He is highly respected by the herp community for what he has done with that company. His decision to apply for the position at USARK was not in any ways associated or influenced by Gary Bagnall, it was a personal decision. I am extremely happy to see Phil in this position. He is a nice, NORMAL, human being, with no sense of superiority. He will do a great job under the guidance of the board and our lobbyist and law firm.

As far as what Andrew has done you state, that is something we cannot comment on. I have no information regarding that, and with Wyatt out of USARK I am not sure what you would expect us to do. What is your suggestion?

Dr. Warren Booth

 

[rodneynboalich]

warren is/was usarks board aware that wyatt had been lying about legislation. was usarks board aware the wyatt lied about hr511. was usark aware that wyatt in his written testimony to house natural resource committee, he tried to push a compromise importation for interstate transportation. also was usarks board aware that it was impossible for hr511 to pass because of the knowing clause amendment that was added in the house judiciary committee hearing

 

[Warren_Booth]

Rodney,
What I will say regarding Phil as president. When I did the interview, we had been reviewing Phil's resume and interviewing him. Therefore, with that said, we had someone in mind.

Regarding your other questions of the search, we did not see your application, and your name was not submitted for consideration. Sorry.

Once I get some info regarding PAARK issue, I will start looking into that personally. Of course, if the person/persons asking me to look into it is/are rude or attacking of me or USARK, then I will have to consider whether or not that person/persons is involved in any response or decision that is made.

I have said it in an earlier email, stay polite. There is no reason to come at me, or USARK with guns blazing because you had issues with a previous president. As stated before, the history of USARK with Andrew Wyatt is just that. We are a revitalized organization, that is looking to the future, not digging up old grievances. If you have personal issues with Wyatt, his new association is not hard to find.

Regards,

Warren

 

[WebSlave]

Sorry, but Rodney will not be participating here for the next two years. After a profanity laced PM and then a threat made towards me personally, he is gone.

 

[Jay Sommers Reptiles]

I feel it's actually a good thing that Zoomed is taking over sort of.Doesn't anybody out there know how this works?I mean do the people who smoke cigarettes run or belong to tobacco lobbying groups?Are they on the boards?No the corporations are. Zoomed has the money and the investment.They have more to lose as a company than most individuals or hobbyists.

Gary Bagnal is a stand up guy.He is a hobbyist and keeps a pretty large collection of species that have been the subject of recent attacks in California at a minimum.Most people wouldn't know who Gary was if they saw him,he has no ego and I have never seen him treat anyone in a poor manner.Remember he has been a reptile and amphibian hobbyist for many decades.I still see him get excited about new things for his collection.Personally he is an all around nice guy.

So why shouldn't zoomed lead the way?I am all for it.They have dropped more money than anyone else.Protecting this hobby is protecting their business.You guys think he controlled wyatt?I mean the biggest threats to our hobby(and Zoomeds business) have nothing to do with big snakes,crocodillians and venomous.Those animals are a tiny fraction of the Reptile/amphibian trade.They don't even touch the amount of money that would be lost if amphibans(or turtles) were banned. So just to put it in perspective a big snake ban has little to no impact on Zoomeds business and yet,thats all we have heard about.The rest of the the hobby has literally been left out. At relatively the same time the listing of constrictors in the lacey act was proposed the exact same group also petitioned for ALL AMPHIBIAN SPECIES IN THE WHOLE WORLD TO BE LISTED! Yet noone ever talked about it.Ever. That would mean no imports of any amphibians and no crossing of state lines with any amphibians.Believe me that would crush the pet trade and really hurt Zoomeds busines and every other part of the industry.Yet Wyatt never talked about it and whenever I brought it up it fell on his deaf ears.He deleted it from my comments on facebook etc. The big snake thing was just the tip of the iceburg and really has little impact. An amphibian listing would destry the pet trade and give the HSUS and DOW a lot of headway.If they could accomplish a listing of amphibians than everything else would be easy. here is the petition ( http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-09-17/html/2010-23039.htm) So as far as Phil being president? Good.He is professional,not eccentric a midwesterner with a good head on his shoulders.I don't know him but I have been around him plenty. He isn't a cook.If the assertions are true and Gary has influence over him ,good.That's what you get when you throw tons of money into it.It's called buying influence. There is a whole board for USARK they all have a vote and a say and there are some pretty independent thinkers on that board.Like Ralph Davis for one.Anyone who knows him will tell you he doesn't follow anyones lead,only supports it if he agrees.

So again,Gary Bagnal and Zoomed have more to lose with all we are being attacked with than any hobbyists.Folks should be happy they are so willing to support a hobby organization and not just PIJAC which is an industry group and doesn't focus on Herps.We are all in this together and I for one am very happy there have been changes at USARK maybe now we can start dealing with real issues affecting our hobby.Big snakes are a fringe minority in the hobby. All the rallying and ballyhooing about them was a manipulation.Alarmist strategy to get money from people.The real issues are not constrictors.if we don't get our heads out of the sand you will lose amphibians(chytrid) turtles(salmonella) and then they will go after fish(already have)and plants(already have).

All this crap was started by three ego hounds,who position for some lame notoriety by being a big fish in a small pond.Ken Foose was in the way and blocking attention and fundraising ability by asking USARK to hold off on Nevada and they went after him with a vengeance. Look at this Meitz guy for example.All he is ,is an attention whore.an exibitionist and looking to be somebody,somewhere.Wants his ego stroked.Here is an example of his needing attention outside of the herp world. kind of funny. http://youtu.be/nFx0nJ4ZHvo

I had no idea he was a magician.So smoke and mirrors and deceipt are one of his actual hobbies...literally.Sorry but we need professional normal people representing us.Not jokers.How in the world can we expect outside observeres to take us seriously if these are the types of people who are speaking for us?I mean how can anybody take him,wyatt or walsh seriously. I say give USARK a chance now that a new professional leadership is in place.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

Sorry, but Rodney will not be participating here for the next two years. After a profanity laced PM and then a threat made towards me personally, he is gone.

C'mon Rich...please share. Rodney's attempts at logic and threats are always highly entertaining

 

[WebSlave]

C'mon Rich...please share. Rodney's attempts at logic and threats are always highly entertaining

This thread doesn't need to go in that direction. I felt I merely needed to let people know why that particular participant had been dropped out of this discussion. Otherwise some conspiracy theories might have been speculated on.

 

[AlexBurgos]

Awesome post Jay.

I totally get what you just wrote out and there is no question that ZooMed has been keeping the lights on. A quick stroll down the reptile isle in petsmart illustrates your point to me as I don't see one PVC cage or herpstat stocked on the shelves in the thousands of chain pet shops across America. In fact I can't recall that last time I've seen a Boa Constrictor for sale in the chain stores here and they are legal in my State.

I totally dig what you wrote and I wish everyone in the industry could read your post. Thanks so much for the reminder. It’s easy to get sidetracked when everyone has been talking big snakes for the past five years. That talk may have raised money for some but it also decimated the big snake market on the private breeders' platform, that’s for sure. Sometimes I wonder if it could have been avoided altogether. The outside world will never know but I’d imagine perhaps Mr. Wyatt knows.

 

[Lucille]

I say give USARK a chance now that a new professional leadership is in place.

Everyone deserves a chance, it would be wrong to tar any of the new USARK folks with the brush that Wyatt earned.
After all, if they are transparent in their dealings, if they participate and are approachable, and most of all, if they demonstrate that they are helping us, they deserve a chance.

 

[Jay Sommers Reptiles]

Thanks Alex. Hey I am all for big snakes and people being able to keep them. My problem is that the rest of us have been left out of the support of USARKS"herp nation". I am quite certain that is going to change. I personally have everything to lose if amphibians are attacked.I make my living and support my family by breeding mostly amphibians. I literally produce many thousands.My hobby and business have been under attack for years and noone ever talked about it. Go to shows,petstores and look online.Count how many big snakes,crocs and venomous you see for sale.Now count how many amphibians you see.Do the math.Very obvious where the money is.And talk trickle down economics.I sell and amphibian.Customer needs a lot of product support for my animal. Everyone in this hobby should be represented equally and whatever issue comes at one of us should be fought by all of us.Noone should be left out.period.Same goes for the rest of the pet trade. the fuel these folks are using are enviromental issues not attacks on kids by big snakes.That was just the easiest battle for them because they can create a big fear easily as most normal people are a little freaked out by a 20 foot long retic. Noone is really afraid of a fire belly toad or a red eyed tree frog.But when you start talking chytrid and salmonell you can make these inoffensive animals look really scary. Everyone better take notice.

 

[Jay Sommers Reptiles]

Everyone deserves a chance, it would be wrong to tar any of the new USARK folks with the brush that Wyatt earned.
After all, if they are transparent in their dealings, if they participate and are approachable, and most of all, if they demonstrate that they are helping us, they deserve a chance.

Agreed. I mean already Mr. Booth has come on here more than Wyatt ever did. He literally jumped into the lions den also.Haha But hey critisism was earned and valid.I give credit to him and to USARK they took the high road and seem to be doing the right things now.All I ever wanted is up front honesty and transparency.I don't want to be manipulated by USARK in the same relative way HSUS manipulates their members. Thats why they never got a dime from me before.

 

[AlexBurgos]

I hope USARK does not get judged based on this situation. I've had some people tell me that after reading this thread they have become reluctant and one even told me this morning they are not going to donate to USARK anymore. I hope that USARK thrives and grows beyond this. I believe we really need them to survive whether we own a pet shop or just want to keep one boa as a pet. Without an organization like USARK that one boa may not be possible anymore. Our opponents have made it clear they intend to legally remove every exotic animal and plant out of our hands. I couldn’t imagine a world where our only exposure to a reptile/amphibian is in on a television screen and make no qualms about it that’s what HSUS and the likes want.

 

[meowmeowkazoo]

Wasn't it said that Gary Bagnal left his position at ZooMed to work as the president of USARK? I never got the impression that ZooMed would be funding USARK or even be involved in it.

 

[Jay Sommers Reptiles]

Gary is the owner of zoomed. Phil the new USARK president was basically the midwest rep for Zoomed.

 

[Jay Sommers Reptiles]

Sarah,

Do a little homework and look into USARKS financial records. Gary is the chair of USARKS board and Zoomed donated many thousands of dollars to USARK they are the biggest donor to USARK by a huge landslide.