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Indiana Wild Animal Ban to effect snake owners!!!

visceralrepulsion

visceralrepulsion

Nay-Sayer
As many of you may know, there is a ban about to be passed in Indiana that will prohibit the sales and ownership of listed species and families of animals, AND any other animal deemed unfit by the department. Included in the ban are all species of the family Boidae, which contains Pythons and Boas. These animals are considered dangerous. Any animals given up to authorities, confiscated, etc. by this new law will be DESTROYED. Animal Bans are gaining momentum across our nation. Even if you don't live in Indiana your state could be next.

Please, as snake lovers, as citizens, and as human beings, TAKE ACTION!!! One way you can help is to directly write Indiana Representative Ms. Lawson. If you do not have the time, ability, etc. to compose a proper letter, there will be a sample letter and petition on change.org soon. I'm in collaberation with a friend who is a writer to draw up a dignified letter and petition to represent those of us who want and need it. I will be posting the letter and link to the petition ASAP.

Please keep up with this forum for them, or email me a request for the info at [email protected]. I will get back to you shortly. I hope I myself, Indiana natives, and our other citizens of the United States can count on you to help. Don't sit back while hundreds of thousands of animals are torn from their homes and vanquished. Don't wait for this ban to effect you personally. BE AN ACTIVIST, NOT A PASCIFIST.

This ban is only the tip of the iceburg. Next the government will be taking our dog ownership rights, or any othe right they can. If we give an inch, they WILL take a mile. There are already strict laws in effect to prohibit, or monitor the ownership of Staffordshire terriers, a.k.a. "pitbulls". These types of laws are about ignorance, fear propaganda, and hate. If our "representatives" did their homework, they wouldn't think a 2ft Sand Boa is "dangerous". They would be more worried about BEES, who kill 533 people annually. They are the top committer of fatal attacks on humans from animals. Next? Dogs, who committ 208 fatal attacks annually. Can you fathom how many fatal attacks are carried out by non-venomous snakes yearly? The astonishing number is .5, or 1/2 a person. It takes on average 2yrs. for one person to be fatally injured by a non-venomous snake. Do your math, and in one year more dogs kill humans than have been killed by non-venomous snakes in the ENTIRE HISTORY of the United States. Though these statistics do change, that number has went UP since the beginning of our nation, our nation in its infancy, and even in its first 200 years. Snakes are the #1 phobia of Americans. Don't support propaganda that says "Burmese Pythons predicted to take over 1/3 of the United States!". Help educate people about snakes, this ban, and our rights as people living in what is supposed to be the most free nation in the world. In reality anyone who is not ignorant knows this hate-crime being lashed out upon snakes is driven by an engine of fear and misguidance by our top "advisors", who are in the pockets of our officials. We as herpers, including your average Joe, know that Pythons and Boas would not survive an upper midwestern climate change like they would encounter if released, posing virtually no threat to the ecosystem, and as statistics show, almost none to humans in general. Even snakes in the everglades are being wiped out during cold-fronts. They are on borrowed time. Like sands in an hourglass, their time is coming to an end. Coming to and end too is your time to act. So please, ACT, stay posted, stay educated, and stay on the outskirts of society, it's the best place to be! Thanks for your time!!!
 
Lyion said:
This is seriously an outrage! Destroyed? This is insane!
Click to expand...

Oh, I know! Can you imagine how many animals are going to be "put down" because of this? The numbers are ludacris. Even with rare animals like tigers, I think the numbers are 15,000 owners in the U.S.. The statewide amount will vary, but that still means an average of 300 tigers would be destroyed in Indiana, if our "reps" have it their way. I imagine though there are going to be a mammoth number of people though that are just going to keep owning their animals, hoping they don't get found out. I'm not against some kind of rule to be able to own certain species, really. What about making people who want to own potentially large snakes take classes? Requiring microchipping in particular species? Or paying an ownership fee? Whatever we have to do to not massacre such a quantity of animals because of fear and hate propaganda. Some states already have licensing laws for large snakes. Does this really need to end in death, and thousands of animal owners being left broken hearted? It really doesn't =[. The only way I'll give up my snakes is if the man pries them from my cold dead hand, of which I'll be clutching an American flag in the other!
 
This doesn't even seem real! I thought HB-352 was bad, but this one just blows it out of the water! How ignorant can the people who come up with these "bills" even be? And the mere fact that the animals will be "destroyed" is absolutely ridiculous. After what happened at Zanesville, it was expected there would be a crazy bill like this (despite the fact there were NO reptiles involved) but nothing has even happened in Indiana that would call for such an outrageous attack on reptile keepers everywhere, not just in Indiana!
 
I wonder if it's time to stop posting on snake forums and just go into hiding with my snakes... I love interacting with other enthusiasts - that's half the fun. But the laws are getting ridiculous and if it gets much worse, I will just enjoy my animals in privacy.
 
Sorry guys, some of you may've noticed I said pythons are in the family Boidae (anacondas, boas). They are infact in the family Pythonidae. No, that wasn't MY mistake. That was info taken directly from the bill, IN1288. So they listed species under incorrect families in a formal bill, and expect us to think they know a darn thing about snakes? Not bloody likely!
 
Here is a letter drawn up by a lady on iherp.com. It's a nice letter. Feel free to use it, and to tweak and add to it if you wish.



Representative Linda Lawson
Indiana House of Representatives
200 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2786
[email protected]



Re: House Bill No. 1288



Dear Representative Lawson:



I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits. I am writing on behalf of myself, my friends, small business owners and the entire Herpetology community regarding the aforementioned legislation.



When I read the bill for the first time, I could understand that the inception of same could quite possibly come from a standpoint of wanting the citizens of Indiana to be safer when “dangerous wild animals” are concerned. When these creatures are paired with the uneducated, it can pose a life-threatening situation, no doubt.



I read the bill again, in the hopes of comprehending it a bit better and to really get a good feel where you were coming from. It was at this point I began losing clarity, and gaining confusion.



As written on Page 3, Lines 22 and 23, Subsection (J), House Bill 1288 defines one of the “dangerous wild animals” as “All species of the family Boidae (anacondas, pythons, boa constrictors).” The first thing that popped out at me was that pythons are not part of the Boidae family (although they’re listed as if they were), but part of the Pythonidae family. Because of this oversight, it is impossible to know which snakes you are truly referring to.



Some people, like myself, have a single snake (a ball python, to be exact) as a beloved pet. Other people have twenty or more snakes as pets. Different owners have over one hundred – some may be viewed as pets, but ultimately, it is their livelihood and only source of income.



On January 5, 2011, a study was published by Georgetown Economic Services, LLC, commissioned by The United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK, and available for your ready reference at www.whitehouse.gov), entitled The Modern U.S. Reptile Industry. The report itself was over 70 pages, but I’ll just hit the highlights:



v In 2009, the reptile industry earned more than $1 billion.



v Most of the reptile businesses in the United States are “Mom & Pop” shops.



v 4.7 million U.S. households owned more than 13.6 pet reptiles.



That is an extremely quick overview. The report is filled with hundreds of other factoids, but what I would really like to focus on is that if enacted, House Bill 1288 would effectively put many of the residents of Indiana out of business, forcing them into unemployment and undoubtedly becoming a burden on the state. When a person has a reptile business, there is little time for anything else, as that is their full time job.



I haven’t forgotten that you have listed snakes, venomous and non-venomous, as “dangerous wild animals,” showing concern for your citizens. Are you aware that since 1980, there have been less than a dozen fatalities from venomous snakes? Did you know that from 1990 to 2008 there were eight fatalities by non-venomous snakes? The people who own reptiles (either for business or for pets) are actually quite responsible and extremely educated so that they can prevent injuries.



Each year, more people are killed by deer (on average, around 150) than by dogs, snakes, sharks, mountain lions, bears and alligators combined. That fact gives me pause as to why deer are not on the list of “dangerous wild animals.” Walking into a caged area with a deer is more dangerous than keeping a variety of boa as a pet.



Representative Lawson, I implore you to “kill the bill.” Not only will it cause many of your residents to become out of work, small business owners who are trying to provide for their families, but it would also be like losing a family member to some. I know that it may be hard to understand the love some people have for reptiles, but that does not mean they love them any less than a person may love a cat or a dog.



Your diligent efforts and the tax payer dollars would be much better directed to education, your 9% unemployment rate, and helping out the small business owner instead of trying to impede them.



Warmest Regards,
 
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