Fla Fish And Wildlife

An idea for the next time, stay away from straight consignment. "Sell" the animals you want sold on consignment by the vendor you work for. Even if no money changes hands at least generate a receipt. Then after the show if the animal doesn't sell "buy" it back. At that point they "own" it and can sell it there with no hassles, plus they that needed receipt.

Not to mention if they "sell" it back to you you'll have a receipt for that animal if you take it yourself to Daytona next year.

business about "receipts and breeding records" goes to court. This should not be the pivital force for incarcerating an out of state vendor.

What if the F/W are not satisfied with the breeding records or receipts, what if they attempt to confiscate the animals a violation of the permit agreement, what if they close the booth alltogether!

As farfetched as the above senerio may seem, its an avenue , that they may take , and allow the courts to decide the fate of the vendor. I seriously consider what safe guards are going to be put into place when attending a show of this magnitude with the possibility of spending more time in the state of Fla. as their guest rather than the hotel!!!!

This is coming to a show near you.

Dont think for one instance it stops here, we all know its started long ago. They are turning the heat up and watching us broil.

Here in Nebraska it seems like every week we have a change in the laws regarding our rights to keep reptiles. Currently we have a 8 ft snake law and a 5 ft lizard law in the city. We also have a permit system.

If you sell reptiles, from your home, from a shop, or online you are expected to have a 150$ city pet shop liscence. Well once you get the city liscence the state wants a 150$ state liscence as well. Both of theese give them the right to "inspect" your "facility" at their will. Think about this, if your breeding say a pair of panther chameleons in your basement on the side, you need to pay 300$ in permits PLUS give up your right to unlawfull search and seizure.

Now imagine if you move say a month after you get one of the permits, well YOU NEED ALL NEW PERMITS. I will have given the state 600$ in permits this year to sell reptiles in the state of Nebraska.

They tried to push this onto our local little dinky show as well. Trying to read the law as to say that out of state vendors would need a pet shop liscence (150$ plus dont let the state find out...LOL) for a 1 day show twice a year.

But you know whats saddest of all. The people pushing them to push us are within us. The calls and complaints on the shows 90% of the time are the cook from peta, hell even some of the rational enforcement officials consider them idions, its the pet shops.

Every complaint filled on the local show have been from Pet shops trying to "protect" their turf. What a bunch of idots we can be, inviting the wolves into the hen house.

sorry.....90% of the complaints AREN'T from the cooks at Peta.......

You are correct, this is about revenue. At least in the state of Fla. Record keeping is becoming more of a way of life for herpers here. Especially if your a retail store. I dont have a problem with providing information about maintaining receipts, or other information that is necessary if you are a resident of the state and that are the requirements to obtain a permit. I understand that F/W do have the right to examine these records to insure that if the purchase was made within the state of Fl. that it be done between permit holder to permit holder. (That is where the revenue comes into play) Everybody gets a piece of the pie!

My serious concern are for the out of state vendors who have to abide for a weekend rollercoaster with Fla officials who have already received payment, and have added new dimensions to their interpetation of what should be expected from these vendors. Hopefully if we can provide the funds for permits, we should be able to provide the funds to take these people to court, and let them know that we will not become lambs or accept being beaten up everytime a show appears and put not only our animals in jeapordy but ourselves as well.

The whole concept of "permits" is about as perfect of an example of the saying The road to hell is paved with good intentions as I could ever imagine. Nearly ALL permitting systems start out easy to get, easy to renew, cheap, with reasonable constraints, and considered not worth fighting for those people who resist the idea. THAT is simply the foot in the door. Once the government is granted the power to issue permits for something you want to do, they then have the power to change them at will, leaning more and more heavily towards those changes that will likely cause them to be able to DENY you the permission to engage in that activity.

And yes, many permit systems are instigated, supported, and actively encouraged by the people already engaging in the activity being permitted, because quite simply, many of those people wish to make the bar higher for those people trying to become their competition. Then it becomes a monster that turns on them.

Originally Posted by Junkyard

The last show I attended out here the F&W did not show their faces at all. Shows here in So California are not as common and problems are very rare, though this can easily change in a day. It seems that the Florida F/W had expected their presence was needed.

Just because you don't see them, don't be led into a false sense a security, they are there!!!
And with the latest news of the "ex LA-PD officer" dumping the alligator into the local park lake, leading to 2 arrests, they will be ever present in California and at NARBC in force! Under cover!!

While some pet shops might complain about the shows, I do them. It has brought so many new customers to my shop I can't lose. Not only that but where else can I find as large a variety of CB animals to cherry pick from....and NO SHIPPING CHARGES!

Originally Posted by Jim O

As long as it isn't Florida...

No worries there, Jim, as I will not be darkening Florida's doorways except upon sparse visitation. I'll be moving to Georgia from whence I came. The move will serve as the necessary catalyst for further development of our research, conservation, educational and rescue aspect of our business.

Sure, Georgia is not without its flaws, but given the alternative...