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Fear mongering and ignorance. Where to begin? Dr. Finocchio has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. The Dr. says that "90 percent of the animals brought into the U.S. perish after one year. The Dr. is apparently unaware that well over 90 percent of all reptiles purchased from pet stores in the U.S. are captive-bred within this country. Ball pythons, cornsnakes, kingsnakes, ratsnakes, sand boas, red-eared slider turtles, boa constrictors, etc. All originally bred by hobbyists. Amateur keepers who helped produce viable, disease-free animals to supply each other and now the pet trade.

The Dr. goes on to state that, "People try to set up pseudo environments for animals that do not mimic their natural habitats," ... "Think about it; if you take an animal from the subtropics ... that's difficult to duplicate." The Dr., animal lover that he claims to be, has evidently never walked into a reptile petshop or a Petco or Petsmart and seen the proliferation of high-tech misting systems, heating devices, substrates, sophisticated caging and UVB lighting, all used to replicate the exact environment he seems to think can't be duplicated. The Dr. is concerned about the welfare of these animals: "I have to look out for the welfare of these animals, not the almighty dollar." This is reassuring because if this bill is passed, thousands of boa and python owners will be taking their snakes to the RISPCA, where the good Dr. will no doubt "look after their welfare" since their owners are now criminals and cannot own and care for their serpents any longer.

Yet another ignorant statement: "I'd personally like to see most reptiles banned," ... "I don't want to be a Scrooge, but these animals do not provide what a dog, cat, rabbit or sheep can give to a person." The Dr. thinks that people own reptiles for companionship, which is utterly ridiculous. While there are some who would give their snake a name, most reptile owners own reptiles to maintain a connection with nature, with something primeval and wild, something that evokes steaming jungle or dry savannah, rushing rivers or closed canopy forest.

I'm getting tired, but there's still more ! the Dr. calls large reptiles "dangerous." Dangerous because they're large? To whom are they dangerous? What would constitute large? Should there be a separate Senate bill to determine this? I have a large tortoise. I suppose he could be dangerous if I tripped over him. No one else could ever trip over him because he's in an outdoor pen in good weather and an indoor pen in winter. Same goes for all my other snakes and other reptiles. They are all caged, can't possibly bite anyone besides myself. So I guess they're only a danger to me. Funny though ... I don't feel threatened.

From: Bill may outlaw ownership of pythons, boas & crocs

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