l The Blumen Boas Blog

Monday, January 11, 2010

You Have To Fight For Your Right.....

Instead of partying like the Beastie Boys song, we have to fight for our right to own boas! In case you are not aware, the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed S373 AKA the Python Ban. This bill will add 4 species of Python, 4 species of Anaconda, and ALL TYPES of Boa Constrictors to the Lacey Act!

If this passes the Senate, it would make it a Federal offense to buy, sell, or transport a boa or python across state lines. If this passes, you would not be able to purchase animals from someone in another state. This would effectively cease all boa sales, and hurt breeders both small and large. Also, as an owner of a BANNED Boa Constrictor or Python, you would not be able to go to a Vet in another state without committing a Federal offense. If you had to move to another state, yes you guessed it, your pets would not be able to go with you! So what would be the fine if you committed this Federal offense? A maximum fine of $250,000 for individuals, $500,000 for organizations.

The very sloppy USGS report (300 pages, 15MB download) that this bill was based on is flawed and has been rejected by many of USGS's peers (as reported on National Geographic's website), as well as the United States Chamber of Commerce. Can you imagine what this bill, if passed, would do to our already failing economy? Cage builders, rat suppliers, substrate providers, snake breeders, pet shop owners, and especially pet owners are part of an estimated $3 to $4 Billion dollar reptile industry (yes that is with a "B"!!). Thousands more people would now be unemployed - if nobody can buy boas or pythons, who would need to buy equipment or supplies?? Why would people breed boas if you weren't allowed to sell them to people around the country or the world for that matter? Of course, the objections are falling on deaf ears in the Senate.

So, what can you do? You (and everyone you know - family, friends, everyone) need to contact the Legislators for your State ASAP. A face-to-face meeting would be the best thing to do, a phone call would definitely help (try to talk to the Senator directly, not a liaison) and/or a letter would be fine. An email would be OK, but probably will be deleted or not taken as seriously. For letter writing steps and the contact information for your State Senator, visit http://www.kill-s373.com/. Hurry as the deadline to get your letters into USARK is Wednesday, January 20. All letters will be compiled and delivered to each State's Senator by USARK in person to show our solidarity against this terrible piece of legislation. Oh, and if are not yet a member of USARK, join today!

There are an estimated 4 million reptile owners out there. Even if you don't currently own a boa or python, contact your State Senator anyways. It's only a matter of time before they target ALL reptiles!

For more information, I highly recommend reading the excellent publications on this subject that have been submitted by Dave and Tracy Barker.

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posted by Kevin Blumenthal - Blumen Boas at 11:10 PM 0 Comments

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Proposed Bill to be amended

Here's the latest from USARK - thanks to everyone who called and/or faxed to voice their opinion!

UPDATE: HR2811 Amendment
House Judiciary Committee Staff and bill Sponsors agrees with USARK position to limit the scope of HR2811 with a proposal for an amendment. All but two pythons will be completely exempted from the bill. The exception will be the IMPORT of the Burmese Python and the African Rock Python. Further, Committee staff has committed to work with USARK over the August legislative break to craft language to allow the commercial trade in captive bred Burmese Pythons and African Rock Pythons to continue. This is a huge victory for USARK and the Reptile Nation!
For the last two days, while the Reptile nation was making their calls, USARK was involved in intense discussions with the Sponsors of HR2811 and House Judiciary Committee Staff, not to destroy the Reptile Industry with their bill. Yesterday morning we suggested to Congressman Kendrick Meek and Congressman Tom Rooney that the bill be amended to address ONLY the IMPORT of the Burmese Python and exempt all the other pythons from this legislation. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) caught wind of what we were doing and began to apply pressure to leave the bill "as is", banning all pythons.
Today we coordinated a conference call to discuss the possibility of amending HR2811 instead of banning all pythons. Present were Rep Meek's staff, Rep Rooney's staff, both minority & majority Committee staff, bill proponent HSUS and USARK. HSUS made a very emotionally charged argument to ban all pythons. Their argument was strong on rhetoric and weak on facts and science. HSUS suggested that any bill going forward must include the Burmese Python, African Rock Python and Reticulated Python. They stated that the Reticulated Python was an Invasive Species that could surpass the Burmese Python. Andrew Wyatt of USARK challenged that statement indicating that HSUS could not produce credible scientific evidence to support their position, and that in more than 30 years of captivity in the US Reticulated Pythons have never been shown to be invasive; or even likely to be invasive. Wyatt also voiced concerns that this bill goes far beyond just stopping the import of these animals, but would also stop interstate transport. HSUS challenged that assertion, but Todd Willens of Vitello Consulting (USARK DC Consultant) confirmed Wyatt's concerns reading directly from the Lacy Act. Wyatt indicated that there was probably more than 100,000 Burmese Pythons already in captivity and HR2811 made no provision for what would happen to all these very valuable animals that would become worthless overnight. Frank Vitello of Vitello Consulting pointed out that there was already a science based process of evaluation to determine what animals should be placed on the Injurious Wildlife list of the Lacy Act. He pointed out that what HSUS was suggesting was to avoid a scientific evaluation in favor of legislating science.
Following the meeting USARK was contacted and told of an agreement by committee staff to create an amendment that would limit the bill to the IMPORT of the Burmese and African Rock Pythons. Committee staff committed to work through the August break to work on how to create an exemption for the captive trade in the Burmese and African Rock Pythons. During the July 29th markup of the Full Committee we are told that Congressman Rooney will introduce the following amendment to HR2811:
AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2811OFFERED BY MR. ROONEY OF FLORIDABeginning in line 6, strike ‘‘; of the constrictor snake of the species Python genera’’ and insert ‘‘; of the Burmese Python of the species Python molurusbivittatus; of the African Rock Python of the species Python sebae’’.
If we are successful in saving the Python industry there will still be a few "armchair quarterbacks" that will criticize our efforts. There is no guarantee that the amendment will be passed, but USARK has done everything possible, and will continue to pursue every avenue to protect the Reptile Industry. This bill is politically driven and is going to move forward with or without amendment. We are encouraged that the amendment was crafted by both majority and minority staff, thus it should send a positive signal to both Democrat and Republican Committee Members. We are hopeful the amendment passes. In either case we will continue to work with the bill sponsors and committee staff to further amend the bill before it reaches the House floor for a vote. We are appreciative that Congressmen Meek and Rooney, and the majority and minority committee staff favored our recommended changes and have committed to continue working with USARK as the bill moves through the legislative process.
USARK is also pleased to report that it has secured a meeting with the office of Senator Bill Nelson during August recess to discuss modifications to the Senate counterpart to HR2811, S373.

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posted by Kevin Blumenthal - Blumen Boas at 6:00 AM 1 Comments

Monday, July 27, 2009

Update on HR2811

This was emailed from USARK tonight - please call tomorrow (Tuesday) if you haven't called yet. It looks like they might amend the bill to be ONLY for Burmese pythons instead of ALL pythons.

Not Enough Calls- Keep Calling Tomorrow!
We need many more calls for the CALL CAMPAIGN OPPOSING HR2811 organized by USARK. We saw many email lists forwarding our phone and fax campaign all around the Reptile Nation. Kingsnake.com, ReptileRadio and many others helped spread the word, but today's turn out was less than stellar. Our work is not done. Please continue to call all day tomorrow. A link to the remainder of the list of House Judiciary Committee Members is below. Call everyone. If you have not contacted the key members indicated by USARK please do that first. Most members are not very aware of HR2811.
We have been in communication with the offices of Congressman Kendrick Meek and Congressman Tom Rooney since early this morning. They want to amend HR2811. Originally they agreed to the USARK proposal on an amendment. It has since become unclear the direction this proposed amendment might take. Tomorrow there will be a subcommittee mark up. There will be no amendment allowed tomorrow, but we will find out what the proposal for amendment will be. If it is out of line with what we have proposed we will fight it. It is possible that an amendment will be introduced on Wednesday during the full House Judiciary Committee mark up.
Make your phone calls... send your faxes. If you want to be successful we will have to do much better than today. We are potentially facing the end of the python trade. What are you personally prepared to do to stop that from happening? The people that do nothing will have themselves to blame if this bill goes south. Don't sit around and procrastinate and later wish you had done your part. Tomorrow is your last chance to have an impact on an amendment. Make your phone calls... send your faxes!!!

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posted by Kevin Blumenthal - Blumen Boas at 11:15 PM 0 Comments

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Wackos in Washington

Well, because of the stupidity of one irresponsible owner of a Burmese python, some of our fearless Congressmen and Congresswomen are trying to get a bill passed that will ban ALL pythons! Here is the email that was sent out from USARK (United States Association of Reptile Keepers) today:

DANGER: Python Ban Goes to Committee
HR2811 (House version of S373) Sponsored by Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL), will go to Mark-up (amendment) in a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday the 28th, and then to the full committee on Wednesday the 29th. This bill has been called the Python BAN. If passed as written, it will BAN the IMPORT, EXPORT and INTERSTATE TRANSPORT of the entire genus python. Once it passes Mark-up it will go to a vote on the floor of the full House of Representatives. Anyone who doesn't believe that this is an immediate threat to the entire Reptile Community has their head in the sand. If the Reptile Nation does not wake up and take massive and decisive action right now we could lose ALL pythons.
USARK has worked hard and spent a lot of money to make sure the Reptile Nation has the best information available regarding the fate of our community. We make our positions clear and operate with complete transparency. We have no conflicts of interest. Our only allegiance is to the Reptile Nation. We are asking you to TAKE ACTION NOW to save this industry. No one else can do this for us. We hold our fate in our own hands. That is why we created USARK, to take control of our own destiny.
We have the best lobbyists, contacts and strategy to address the situation. This is not the time to panic or get angry. It is time for calm deliberate action. We need to engage in a massive phone and fax campaign on Monday the 27th. Get everyone you know to call. Spread the word to every forum and social networking site you frequent.
Sponsor and Key Members:
Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL), SponsorWashington DC: phone 202-225-4506; fax 202-226-0777Miami: phone 305-690-5905; fax 305-690-5951
Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL)Washington DC: phone 202-225-5792; fax 202-225-3132Punta Gorda: phone 941-575-9101; fax 941-575-9103
Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)Washington DC: phone 202-225-3001; fax 202-225-5974Boca Raton: phone 561-988-6302; fax 561-988-6423
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)Washington DC: phone 202-225-7931; fax 202-226-2052Pembroke Pines: phone 954-437-3936; fax 954-437-4776
Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) Committee ChairWashington DC: phone 202-225-5126; fax 202-225-0072Detroit: phone 313-961-5670; fax 313-226-2085EMAIL: john.conyers@mail.house.gov
Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) Ranking MemberWashington DC: phone 202-225-4236; fax 202-225-8628San Antonio: phone 210-821-5024; fax 210-821-5947
Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA)Washington DC: phone 202-225-4695; fax 202-225-3196Van Nuys: phone 818-994-7200; fax 818-994-1050
Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA)Washington DC: phone 202-225-3861; fax 202-225-0442
Congressman Howard Coble (R-NC)Washington DC: phone 202-225-3065; fax 202-225-8611Greensboro: phone 336-333-5005; fax: 336-333-5048
Congressman Randy Forbes (R-VA)Washington DC: phone 202-225-6365; fax 202-226-1170Chesapeake: 757-382-0080; fax 757-382-0780
Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ)Washington DC: phone 202-225-4576; fax: 202-225-6328 Glendale: phone 623-776-7911; fax: 623-776-7832
Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-CA)Washington DC: phone 202-225-5811; fax 202-225-1100Thousand Oaks: phone 805-497-2224; Toll Free: (800) 423-0023; fax 805-497-0039
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)Washington DC: phone 202-225-5635New York: phone 212-367-7350

CALL, CALL, CALL!!! Our Future Depends On It! Make an avalanche of calls and bury HR2811!

SCRIPT: My name is...... I want to register a NO on HR2811. If passed as written this bill will destroy thousands of Florida voters, their families and small businesses. There is not a shred of scientific evidence to support banning all of the different species in the genus python. Please amend the bill to address only the IMPORT of the Burmese Python. Thank you for your consideration.

So, please help by calling all of the above numbers first thing on Monday. If you have access to a FAX machine, fax them as well! Also, if you haven't already become a member of USARK, do so today! They really lookout for bills such as this that try to sneak through, and they have the back of "herpers" both big and small! I became a Silver member in April, and I definitely think it was money well spent.

It's sad that people can't think for themselves and actually have the COMMON SENSE to know how to properly care for an animal. Florida has procedures and requirements in place for people that choose to have large boids for pets. Unfortunately, this moron didn't want to follow the rules and now he has to live with himself for what his animal did (I will leave it at that for now.....).

We apparantly need to have Congress and the Senate think for us, and put the rest of the issues the nation is facing on the back burner....The economy, unemployment, health care, our troops being deployed for FAR too long, are apparantly just not THAT important. I sure am happy to see my HARD EARNED tax dollars being well spent on issues that need to be addressed immediately....One idiot IS NOT representative of the thousands and thousands of boid owners that properly take care of and house reptiles safely and securely daily and for years without one issue!

I have done enough rambling - please be sure to do your part and call the phone numbers listed above on Monday and voice your opinion, I know I will be.

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posted by Kevin Blumenthal - Blumen Boas at 8:03 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, April 12, 2009

HR669

So, what is HR669? It is a bill currently before the House of Representatives entitled the "Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act". The bill states "The purpose of this Act is to establish a risk assessment process to prevent the introduction into, and establishment in, the United States of nonnative wildlife species that will cause or are likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to other animal species’ health or human health."

In a nutshell, this bill as currently written would make it illegal for anybody in the U.S. to HAVE, BREED, SELL, PURCHASE, import or export animals not on the "approved" list (which currently only has cats, dogs, cattle, donkeys, ducks, goats, goldfish, horses, llamas, mules, pigs, rabbits, and sheep). Since the "approved" list doesn't include ANY reptiles, exotic fish, birds, hamsters, gerbils, pocket pets, you name it - so much for having those types of pets. The bill would also make it illegal to transport any of the unapproved animals between any State.

If you haven't already, you need to join the letter writing campaign to the Representatives behind this bill to let them know that you oppose this! This letter writing campaign was started by USARK (United States Association of Reptile Keepers), and more information (sample letter if you don't want to write your own letter, list of Representative addresses, etc) can be found on their website at http://usark.org/hr669intro.php. I already have sent my letters, as well as my wife and a few of my friends - please do your part ASAP! The deadline to get the letters to Tom Wolfe is April 21st. It only takes 20 minutes of your time, and it is definitely needed. Spread the word and get all of your family members and friends to sign letters as well. After you have sent the letters, try calling and emailing the Representatives, especially if any of the bill sponsors are from your state. Spam filters are filtering a lot of emails to the Representatives, and they can easily delete the message without really reading it. For this reason it is important to make sure to send a "real letter" to make sure the Representatives really get the message.

Ralph Davis (a MAJOR breeder of Ball Pythons) has uploaded some videos of the process of sending in the letters - the first one can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVAOuJz9aY&feature=related.

Thank you for helping keep our rights to keep our reptiles and all exotic animals!

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posted by Kevin Blumenthal - Blumen Boas at 8:50 PM 0 Comments

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Proposed Federal regulations banning Boas and Pythons

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has made a significant move towards banning the importation and interstate transport of Boa Constrictors and Pythons in the United States. Quietly published in the Federal Register, the agency is accepting public comments until April 30th. Please go to the online petition that I created to find out more information and to add your name. Spread the word, and please voice your opposition to this proposal at http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=09000064803a565f (be sure to fill in ALL requested information otherwise your comments will not be considered). Thanks!

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posted by Kevin Blumenthal - Blumen Boas at 11:34 PM 0 Comments

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