WARNING- HR6311 Reintroduced as HR669- BAN ON BOAS & PYTHONS!!

[Bill & Amy]

WARNING- HR6311 Reintroduced as HR669- BAN ON BOAS & PYTHONS!!



Below you will read a press release by the most powerful Animal Rights Group on the planet. As predicted by USARK, HR6311 has been reintroduced as HR 669. If passed as written this bill will BAN the import, purchase, sale, trade and breeding of many, many reptiles and amphibians... including Boa, Python and Eunectes. If this bill passes it will destroy the reptile community and industry overnight! PLEASE JOIN USARK IN FIGHTING HR669!!!

SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST HR669

***SEND THIS ALERT TO EVERYONE ON YOUR EMAIL LIST!!!

Stand by for USARK's Campaign to defeat HR 669.



http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publi...tic_animal_importation_introduced_012709.html





Congresswoman Bordallo Introduces Bill to Protect People and Native Wildlife by Addressing Exotic Animal Importation


January 27, 2009


The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International welcomed the introduction yesterday of the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act (H.R. 669) in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam).

The bill is designed to prevent the introduction and establishment in the United States of nonnative wildlife species that may harm the economy, the environment, human health or native wildlife. H.R. 669 would require the federal government to assess the risk of nonnative wildlife species proposed for importation and, with public input, decide if the importation of these animals should be allowed or prohibited.

"Each year, millions of wild animals are captured overseas and imported into the United States," said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The HSUS. "This trade results in the suffering and death of large numbers of animals, poses unnecessary risks to public health and jeopardizes native wildlife populations here and abroad. We are grateful to Congresswoman Bordallo for working to address this global problem."

Imported wild animals may escape or may be let loose by owners who cannot properly care for them. These animals sometimes die from starvation, predation or exposure. Sometimes, however, they thrive - putting people, domestic pets and native wildlife at risk.

Facts

Under current regulations, the Fish and Wildlife Service can declare species "injurious," making it illegal to import these animals or sell them over state lines as pets. However, this process typically takes years to complete and occurs after species are established, when eradicating them can be expensive, inhumane and nearly impossible.
Congresswoman Bordallo represents the island of Guam, where brown tree snakes accidentally introduced after World War II have decimated native bird and lizard populations.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 2005 the United States imported the following numbers of live, wild animals: nearly 88,000 mammals; 259,000 birds; more than 1 million reptiles; more than 5 million amphibians and more than 200 million fish.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora aims to ensure sustainability and humane treatment in the international wildlife trade, but many species are not covered and even covered species may be harmed by trade.


Link - get on it guys!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/usarkHR6311/index.html

 

[sschind]

Just so you all know, this petition seems to be specifically for removing boas and pythons from the list. It says nothing against the list as a whole. I didn't read closely enough. Not that this is bad, its just that you need to do more if you think you were objecting to the whole bill and not just the boas and pythons part.

 

[hhmoore]

Who knew that a representative of Guam could champion something like this

 

[Bill & Amy]

Harald, is there any way you can edit the Quote stuff from the title? I didn't catch it before I posted it.

 

[Mooing Tricycle]

Didnt people say that online petitions dont do anything?

 

[Bill & Amy]

Didnt people say that online petitions dont do anything?

I can't imagine USARK would keep doing them, if they didn't accomplish anything.

 

[hhmoore]

<side note to BIll - posted here vs PM, so it is clear that I did not edit the post>
Bill, as a contibuting member, you should be able to edit your own posts. To change the title, when you access the first Edit screen, click on Go Advanced...that will let you make the change.

 

[Mooing Tricycle]

I can't imagine USARK would keep doing them, if they didn't accomplish anything.

I dunno, Ill have to look into it more, but There have been a few online petitions, only to be posted on by other members, that online petitions/digital names dont... do anything. Ill post back later, once i find out more.

It would be nice, of course, if they did work.

 

[sschind]

I don't think they can hurt but my gut feeling is that they don't do much good either. I think it would be more effective trying ways to get real signatures on paper like contacting reptile shows and clubs but maybe they are doing that as well. I would think every animal show in the country would have petitions up to try to fight this.

Personally, I am more concerned about the implications this might have in the tropical fish hobby than the reptile hobby. I mean after all, for me there are plenty of native snakes I can sell and I sell them 3 or 4 to 1 over the pythons anyway but as far as fish, I would say that virtually 100% of the species I sell are non-native.

I do think that it is only a matter of time before something like this gets passed. Hopefully wiser heads will prevail and something a little more specific can be worked out. The thing that scares me about this is its like a blank check so to speak. "Pass the law now and we will fill in the details later" Hopefully this very aspect will make people realize what could happen if this law passes.

 

[Bill & Amy]

<side note to BIll - posted here vs PM, so it is clear that I did not edit the post>
Bill, as a contibuting member, you should be able to edit your own posts. To change the title, when you access the first Edit screen, click on Go Advanced...that will let you make the change.

Learn something new everyday, thanks Harald.

 

[John E Dove]

It would behoove everyone to learn the names of their people in congress and start sending out protest emails as well. The more voices they hear the more likely they will be to listen.

 

[Clay Davenport]

I made this post on another forum as well, but I wanted to copy it to this thread too.

It's great that everyone signs the petition, but everyone also needs to keep in mind that in reality an online petition is just a an empty gesture and will do basically nothing to influence the decisions of lawmakers. Any petition without signature checks and controls is automatically rendered meaningless to whoever it is meant to influence.
After you sign the petition, don't let yourself feel satisfied that you did your part to fight the bill. You MUST contact your representatives personally, that is what influences the decisions of lawmakers, the voters making their will known.
Take the time to compose a letter stating the facts and your opinions in a civil and professional manner, being sure to mention the economic impact the bill will have on you personally as well as the industry as a whole. Negative economic impact on people and business always weighs in the heaviest on these issues. I would think this is even more true considering our current economic condition in this country.
Mail or fax the letter to your representative. You can obtain their contact information here http://www.house.gov/
For now there's no need to raise the issue with your senator. This is a House bill for now, and we want to kill it before it reaches the Senate.
Personal contact is what's required, and in the end is all that can change the course of a vote such as this.
I'm glad we have USARK representing our interests, but let's face it, without support from the keepers themselves voicing their opinions personally, they are little more than an insignificant annoyance to the HSUS and their $125 million war chest.

Our lawmakers in NC we discovered had no clue as to the extent of the number of reptile hobbyists and professionals in our state. They had proposed a bill that was very restrictive and it would have likely passed without argument had the reptile community in NC not came out in force in opposition. Many of the lawmakers stated that they had no idea of the level of impact such a bill would have had and the result was the bill was rejected and forced back into committee where is has since stagnated.
I guarantee the HSUS knows FAR more about us, our numbers, and what we do than our representatives do. It's up to us to make ourselves known through personal contact to our representatives.

Also, for those who might think this is only an importation related bill, please read it for yourself.
Here's a quote from the text of the bill:

SEC. 6. PROHIBITIONS AND PENALTIES.

(a) Prohibitions- Except as provided in this section or in section 7, it is unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to--

(1) import into or export from the United States any nonnative wildlife species that is not included in the list of approved species issued under section 4;

(2) transport between any State by any means whatsoever any nonnative wildlife species that is not included in the list of approved species issued under section 4;

(3) violate any term or condition of a permit issued under section 7;

(4) possess (except as provided in section 3(f)), sell or offer to sell, purchase or offer to purchase, or barter for or offer to barter for, any nonnative wildlife species that is prohibited from being imported under paragraph (1);

(5) release into the wild any nonnative wildlife species that is prohibited from being imported under paragraph (1); or

(6) breed any nonnative wildlife species that is prohibited from being imported under paragraph (1), or provide any such species to another person for breeding purposes.

Pay very close attention to numbers 2, 4, and 6.
No transporting across state lines, no selling or trading, and NO BREEDING of species on the list.
You can sure tell the HSUS had a hand in writing the bill.
There's also no mention that I could find of a grandfather clause, so unless I missed it, if it's passed, then we'll all immediately be illegally keeping alot of animals.
They did however kindly include a provision for the secretary to arrange for voluntary surrender of the snakes we find ourselves suddenly breaking the law by keeping.

(b) Limitation on Application of Prohibitions and Penalties To Prevent Release- The Secretary may limit the application of any provision of section 6 to facilitate implementation of any State program that encourages voluntary surrender to a State of nonnative wildlife species, if the Secretary determines that such limitation will prevent release of such species.

Here is a list of the bill's cosponsors.

Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1]
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7]
Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23]
Rep Kildee, Dale E. [MI-5]
Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3]
Rep Klein, Ron [FL-22]
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3]
Rep Miller, George [CA-7]
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38]

If your representative is on this list it's vitally important that they be contacted by as many of their constituents as possible and encouraged to withdraw themselves as a cosponsor of the bill.

 

[Mooing Tricycle]

Ill call the mass one. Im going to get in contact with Smitty Pignatelli too, hes a friend of my boss.

 

[Web Wheeler]

I just sent this email to President Barack Obama:

Dear Mr. President,

I, along with millions of other Americans, have enjoyed keeping aquarium and terrarium animals as a hobby for over 4 decades. During this time, many advancements in the captive husbandry and reproduction of these exotic creatures have occurred as a direct result of the dedicated efforts of aquarium and terrarium hobbyists. Currently, however, the aquarium and terrarium hobby is seriously jeopardized because of H.R. Bill 669. I sincerely urge you to veto this bill.

Here is a link to contact President Barack Obama:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

 

[Clay Davenport]

This bill has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources

Here is a link to a list of the members of this committee. It would be a good idea for everyone to contact them while the bill is still under their review.
http://tinyurl.com/cuw6w4

The bill will be discussed and revised by this committee before it's actually voted on.
Rep Bordallo, who introduced this bill is a member of this committee as well.

There is also a second bill, S.373, that has been introduced in the Senate which will work together with this bill if both are passed.
It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Here is a link to a list of the members of this committee.
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.c...n=Members.Home

Everyone should contact every Senator on this committee before they send the bill back to the floor for a vote.

 

[Bill & Amy]

Hey Clay, neither link is working for me.

 

[Clay Davenport]

I'm not sure what's up with that, on some of the government sites the links are apparently dynamic and expire after so long.
For the senate committee you can go here and click on Members on the left http://epw.senate.gov/

For the house committee go here http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/ and also click on Members on the left.

 

[JesseWisecup]

i just sent Mr. Obama a message to

 

[kmurphy]

Personally, I am more concerned about the implications this might have in the tropical fish hobby than the reptile hobby. I mean after all, for me there are plenty of native snakes I can sell and I sell them 3 or 4 to 1 over the pythons anyway but as far as fish, I would say that virtually 100% of the species I sell are non-native.

Steve, IMO, you should be concerned with these bills regardless of whether it affects you directly now, or not. HSUS is looking for a foothold and if they get it, they probably won't stop at banning imports and intrastate traffic of "exotics". They may attempt to redefine what an "exotic" is, for example to include domestic, as well as, foreign exotics. We should be concerned about all bills of this nature because if they don't hurt us now they just may down the road.

 

[sschind]

Steve, IMO, you should be concerned with these bills regardless of whether it affects you directly now, or not. HSUS is looking for a foothold and if they get it, they probably won't stop at banning imports and intrastate traffic of "exotics". They may attempt to redefine what an "exotic" is, for example to include domestic, as well as, foreign exotics. We should be concerned about all bills of this nature because if they don't hurt us now they just may down the road.

Oh, I agree 100% I think you may have misunderstood. Maybe I wasn't clear enough. My feelings are that many people on this site and other reptile sites are just concerned that it is banning the reptiles. The online petition that is going around is strictly for the removal of the banning of boas and pythons from this bill and I am afraid that many people think that if they get the snakes removed they will be fine with it. My point, was that from a personal standpoint the fish concern me more than the snakes, as opposed to the general feeling I get from the herp sites that people may not understand that the bill is far more reaching than just reptiles. I guess I was just trying to stress to those that may not have been fully aware that the bill goes much farther than reptiles. You are right, we all have to get behind these things even if they don't deal with our specific area of interest.