CALL NOW TO STOP HR2811!!! *edit: Bill Ammended and passed!

There seems to be some confusion in the Reptile Nation about what is going on here. HR2811 if passed would Ban ALL Pythons Nationwide. This is NOT a Florida bill. It is in the US House of Representatives. This is NOT about Burmese Pythons. IT IS ABOUT ALL PYTHONS!... from Ball Pythons on up... ALL PYTHONS!!! If HR2811 passes the House and Senate as written, the trade in ALL PYTHONS IS OVER!!

PLEASE CALL IN AND REGISTER YOUR "NO" VOTE ON THIS BILL!!!! THIS MUST BE BIG!!! SPREAD THE WORD FOR MONDAY July 27th 2009!!!!!!

Our only chance is to get the bill amended. It is going to get voted on in subcommittee on Tuesday and the full House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. If we are unable to get it amended it will include ALL PYTHONS!

USARK is calling on the entire Reptile nation to turn out for a MASSIVE calling day tomorrow, Monday July 27, 2009!!! If we fail, the ability to work with ANY Python will be devastated. Don't let this happen. We owe it to our children and future generations to be able to enjoy these animals! This is the most fantastic hobby and profession there is. DO NOT LET IT DIE!

Phone & Fax Campaign July 27, 2009: This is not a full list of the House Judiciary Committee. We will focus only on key members.

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



Sponsor and Key Members:

Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL), Sponsor
Washington DC: phone 202-225-4506; fax 202-226-0777
Miami: phone 305-690-5905; fax 305-690-5951

Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL)
Washington DC: phone 202-225-5792; fax 202-225-3132
Punta Gorda: phone 941-575-9101; fax 941-575-9103

Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)
Washington DC: phone 202-225-3001; fax 202-225-5974
Boca Raton: phone 561-988-6302; fax 561-988-6423

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
Washington DC: phone 202-225-7931; fax 202-226-2052
Pembroke Pines: phone 954-437-3936; fax 954-437-4776

Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) Committee Chair
Washington DC: phone 202-225-5126; fax 202-225-0072
Detroit: phone 313-961-5670; fax 313-226-2085
EMAIL: [email protected]

Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) Ranking Member
Washington DC: phone 202-225-4236; fax 202-225-8628
San Antonio: phone 210-821-5024; fax 210-821-5947

Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA)
Washington DC: phone 202-225-4695; fax 202-225-3196
Van 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 202-225-8611
Greensboro: phone 336-333-5005; fax: 336-333-5048

Congressman Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Washington DC: phone 202-225-6365; fax 202-226-1170
Chesapeake: 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 202-225-1100
Thousand Oaks: phone 805-497-2224; Toll Free: (800) 423-0023; fax 805-497-0039

Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Washington DC: phone 202-225-5635
New York: phone 212-367-7350



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

Click here to donate $10 with dollar for dollar matching from Zoo Med

http://usark.org/donate.php

Kill The Bill!

We made our calls here. This bill is, if passed will accomplish nothing but to turn decent people into criminals.

Not Enough Calls!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please Call!!!!!!!

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!!!

BEWARE OF RUMORS... do not contribute to the rumor mill. USARK will make a statement tomorrow updating the situation!

Click here for script and call list.

http://usark.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=88

Click here for expanded call list.

http://usark.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=89

Click here to donate $10 with dollar for dollar matching from Zoo Med

http://usark.org/donate.php

Made my calls....thought i would spread the love to my local news crews as well. called and e-mailed them.

Done and done.

I chewed up the fax machine at work for 2 hrs!

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. 2811
OFFERED BY MR. ROONEY OF FLORIDA
Beginning in line 6, strike ‘‘; of the constrictor
snake of the species Python genera’’ and insert ‘‘; of the
Burmese Python of the species Python molurus
bivittatus; 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.

Was PIJAC not in on this with USARK?

im so confused, can someone translate that to like 3 sentences?

Political big wigs are saying they want to ban all pythons (trafficking, breeding, etc.), because they are an invasive species and taking over where they shouldn't because some people let the animals go in the wild (generally Florida, and not all people let them go, some are escapees). They say they are destroying the natural balance and are starting to harm humans. The irony here is that we are encroaching on natural habitats of many animals, so our remedy is to either kill or relocate the animal (I'm speaking of native animals, bears, alligators, etc.). What the people don't understand is that by banning pythons (which is a HUGE group of animals, not all get 15+ feet long) many people will be losing their jobs/livelihoods. People who breed them won't be allowed to breed, and if caught, they are either fined heavily, or something else drastic. Also, the feeder market would be struck, these animals need to eat, and if the entire python group is banned, that's hundreds of thousands of mouths that don't need to be fed, putting feeder companies out of business, or at least reducing their stock, possibly even affecting smaller snakes that are legal.
It's people not knowing what they're banning, not knowing anything about the animal, etc. Again.

uhhh so stupid!!!!! thanks

Haha! You're not stupid, you just didn't know! That's just fine. Naw, there's a lot more to it of course, but all in all its ridiculous, and shouldn't be allowed to pass.

Just a thought...when are they going to ban these dog species that have attacked and killed people? Wouldn't that make just as much sense as this ridiculous idea? It gets more and more obvious every day that we have lost control of our government. Now they can even tell us what we can and can't keep as pets in our own homes.

i called i doubt itll pass though i read that thousands of people have called and written letters to oppose it

HR2811 Passes Full Committee

This Just in from the House Judiciary Committee Regarding HR2811 Markup:
The full committee has just considered H.R. 2811.
Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) asked that his statement be placed into the record.
Full Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) mentioned the recent python related death and stated the bill was needed to prevent any further accidents. He announced his support of the bill about to be amended.

Bill Co-Sponsor Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) offered his amendment to narrow the scope of the bill to 2 "real threats" to the restoration of the Everglades. He added the bill was needed because of the still pending petition to add pythons to the Lacey Act... 3 years after being submitted to USFWS by the South Florida Water Management District.
The Rooney Amendment to include only the Burmese and the African Rock Pythons was then passed by voice vote.

The amended bill HR2811 was then passed by voice vote.

As promised by Committee Staff, Rep. Rooney's Staff and Rep. Meek's Staff, HR2811 was amended to limit the scope of the bill to only two snakes. Staff renewed their commitment to work with USARK over the August recess to hammer out language for an amendment prior to a vote on the House Floor allowing the captive bred trade of the affected snakes to continue. USARK is dedicated to making sure all the Burm and Afrock breeders will be able to continue to operate their businesses. We will work hard to preserve your place as a legal business concern within the Reptile Nation Family.

HR2811 had bi-partisan support and flew through the Subcommittee and Full Committee even with hundreds of calls and faxes opposing it. Fortunately, USARK was able to convince Committee Staff and the Sponsors that this Bill would be incredibly damaging to an entire sector of the economy if not amended. To their credit they listened. They had not heard our side of this issue before. It seemed to them a very simple bill. We illustrated our concerns and they understood it was not necessary to destroy the Reptile Industry over this issue. They did not have to listen. The votes were overwhelmingly there to pass HR2811 intact.

USARK would like to thank Congressman Meek and his staff, majority and minority Judiciary Committee Staff, Congressman Rooney and his Staff, Congressman Gohmert and his Staff, and Congressman Scott and his staff for listening to the concerns of the Reptile Nation and for working with us in good faith. We look forward to continuing to work to fine tune this bill through the month of August.

This is a real Victory for the Reptile Nation! This whole situation could easily have led to the end of the Reptile Community. Thanks to the hard work of the Reptile Nation we have turned a bad situation good. Animal Rights organizations can no longer slander us at will. Washington now wants to know where we stand on these issues. We are working hard to make sure they understand the realities behind what we do, not the fairy tales being bandied about as if they are fact. We now have a voice... the voice of the Reptile Nation! You are now being heard loud and clear. Thank you for all the support!

WITHOUT YOU THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE!!!

We can certainly be happy that this went as well as it did. That being said, I'm surprised that the amendment isn't a three species list to include Reticulated Pythons. I thought they were a problem also?

I know! I am also suprised that retics were not included. Just goes to show how STUPID all this legislation really is.

Golden Gate Geckos said:

I know! I am also suprised that retics were not included. Just goes to show how STUPID all this legislation really is.

Click to expand...

The legislation is most definitely not stupid, and continuing to call it stupid is only going to disgrace us in the face of politicians and wildlife biologists. We were called out on a problem that, whether we want to admit it or not, was our own doing. We imported these animals into the United States. We bred and sold these animals, sometimes to irresponsible buyers who then released snakes into the wild. Accidental or intentional, the blame is ours for providing the fulcrum to a potential devastating problem.

Shouldn't we share some of the responsibility instead of calling all attempts by the government to rectify our mistakes as stupid?

Ignorance can be cured. We're working to cure that ignorance, not just of irresponsible ownership of reptiles, but also of the politicians in charge of making laws. This bill is not a failure of our government. In fact, it is a supreme example of democracy in action. The reptile community and politicians worked together to come to a compromise that was actually pretty satisfying to both parties. That is very rare.

Marcia, this rant isn't directed at you. I'm merely disgusted by how quickly everybody calls any movement to try and prevent damage to our own precious wildlife species as "stupid". In the past, reptile owners have very much been part of the problem. In fact, I heard very few reptile owners even admitting that invasive species was a problem until their hobby was attacked.

This is a wake up call, and one that was sorely needed. If it took politicians and threatening legislation to light a fire under our butts to actually do what was ethically correct, then so be it, but don't call them stupid for calling us on our own mistakes.

Golden Gate Geckos said:

I know! I am also suprised that retics were not included. Just goes to show how STUPID all this legislation really is.

Click to expand...

I was surprised too.

snowgyre said:

The legislation is most definitely not stupid, and continuing to call it stupid is only going to disgrace us in the face of politicians and wildlife biologists. We were called out on a problem that, whether we want to admit it or not, was our own doing. We imported these animals into the United States... etc

Click to expand...

I believe she meant the fact that retics weren't on the list is stupid- not the bill/amendment itself. But I may be wrong, mogl correct me if i am.

I was 99% certain that the bill was going to be for retics and burmese.