Guest Post from Sara
This is a guest post from Sara, a reader, commenter and now contributor of this site. The animal radicals and politicians are fixin’ to put a fuckin’ to their business and could use some help. Please take the time to read it and follow the links.
-Kenny
I am the manager of a small business. My ol’ man started it 35 years ago, and it’s still going strong. That says a lot right there, 35 years, one store, one owner. That is a lot of years of no vacations, not much for time off, covering when employees are sick, taking care of “the public”, the staff, the taxes, you name it. Two years ago the city decided it would be a fantastic idea to put in light rail. Right down the middle of the street, completely blocking access. We were lucky, we made it through it. We had to put what little savings we had back in to the business, we had to scratch the laughable retirement fund, we did everything we could to make sure that staff got paid. And they did, not one ever had a check bounce. We may not have cashed ours, but they got theirs. And we have great customers, I will never forget the guy that told me that his usual 10 minute drive took him almost 3 hours. And he didn’t care, that he would parachute in to our store if that was what was needed, as he wouldn’t go anywhere else. I gave him his feeders for free. We watched neighbors that had been there for years have to fold. We saw other small businesses that had fought tooth and nail end up bankrupt. The state offered “forgivable loans, up to 20K!” Isn’t that great??? Yeah, I don’t know a single business that took it, not one. The state can kiss our collective asses. The store that we own is a little pet shop. A specialty store. The oldest single owner reptile store in the nation. And we are under attack. Again.
When you say reptile, people get scared. Or people just think that they are “icky”. Snakes, lizards, frogs, oh my! “Kill em all! They kill people, pets, kids, they are DANGEROUS!” Sound familiar? How many of you fight ignorance against having a gun? They are DANGEROUS! Get rid of them! Ban them! They just jump out and start killing people! Guess what, it’s bullshit. It is what happens when you don’t know about them, you aren’t familiar with them, and don’t know what they are really like. If you are not educated about them, it is very easy for the media to sway you. It’s easy to watch tv and believe that there are millions of feral burmese pythons in Florida and that they are eating all of the native wildlife. That they are going to spread through the US and take over the world. This is simply not true. They say that, but do not tell you that they have to have specific temperatures and humidity needs met, or they die. They don’t tell you about the dead ones found last winter when it got colder than usual in the very southern tip of Florida, which, by the way, is the only place in the US that has even the slightest chance of them surviving. They say that they can adapt to environments that are not ideal and still breed and thrive, and this is also bullshit. They like to say that it’s because of people just letting them go when they are tired of them, that if people aren’t allowed to breed and sell them anymore, that nobody will be just tossing them out the door. In actuality, genetic testing has shown that they were from a large breeding facility that was completely destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. Now, I am not saying that nobody ever has chucked their unwanted pet out the door. No more than I would say that nobody has ever dumped a cat or a dog. But of course, those are cute and furry and never cause any damage, right???
The HSUS, PPETA, and Senator Nelson from Florida first tried to pass HR 669. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hr669
This was in 2009, and they failed. This would have allowed any “nonnative” animal at any time to be banned. This would have included hamsters, gerbils, most snakes and lizards, frogs, ferrets, chinchillas, all tropical fish, you name it. Want to get your kid a parakeet? Nope. Wayne Pacelle, whom is at the top of the shit pile that is the “Humane Society” of the United States, doesn’t want anybody to be able to own any pets. And you all know that PETA is the same kind of crazy. And yes, I put “Humane Society” in quotes for a reason. They are NOT a humane society. Just google the truth about the humane society, or, here’s another link. http://www.humanewatch.org/ Because of the fact that they over reached and went for everything, they failed. Fish people, Bird people, Reptile people, Small mammal people, everybody banned together and did not let it happen. I personally got over 800 letters signed and mailed, and that was just out of our little store.
They realized that they bit off more than they could chew. People like their fish tanks. Kids love their hamsters and gerbils and cute little fluffy pets. But snakes? Snakes are an easy way to get your foot in the door. Snakes are scary, and there’s not a large enough group to fight for them. Introduce HR 996. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr996/text This is “To establish an improved regulatory process for injurious wildlife to prevent the introduction and establishment in the United States of nonnative wildlife and wild animal pathogens and parasites that are likely to cause harm.” Shouldn’t get anywhere… It’s the same damn thing! But wait! They DID get to pretty much out of nowhere get burmese pythons, african rocks, and yellow anacondas added to the Lacey Act. Remember all those tv blurbs about how burmese pythons were everywhere? They made it look like you couldn’t step outside your door without being attacked by a “GIANT KILLER SNAKE”! Shock and gasp! Yup, boom. US Fish and Wildlife used bad science and got them added. They lied. (again, shock, right?) The pets that people have had for years are no longer allowed across state lines. Get a job somewhere else and move? If you bring your pet that you have had for 15 years, you are breaking a federal law. You’ve got literally thousands of dollars invested in a breeding project? Too bad.
And now they want to make it even easier to add more. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-07-01/html/2013-15707.htm
This is the USFWS wanting categorical exclusion proposal from NEPA requirements. What this means is that they can add any animal at any time. No due process, no giving two shits about economic impact, nothing. Boom. And for the people that don’t realize that there is economic impact, go to http://market.kingsnake.com/ and click through the classifieds. People put years in to breeding projects, and those babies cost some serious money.
So here is me now begging, pleading, and asking nicely even for all y’all to help. Takes a minute, less if you just do the copy and paste. Let me know that all this typing was worth it. That you all also would like to tell the HSUS and PETA to go *bleep* themselves.
http://usark.org/campaign/usfws-categorical-exclusion/
This one has some more info on what they are doing.
http://usark.org/action-alert/usfws-categorical-exclusion-2/
Thank you all in advance,
Sara
Picture added by Xeno. A not too clear shot of my last girl: Lucy
-Kenny
I am the manager of a small business. My ol’ man started it 35 years ago, and it’s still going strong. That says a lot right there, 35 years, one store, one owner. That is a lot of years of no vacations, not much for time off, covering when employees are sick, taking care of “the public”, the staff, the taxes, you name it. Two years ago the city decided it would be a fantastic idea to put in light rail. Right down the middle of the street, completely blocking access. We were lucky, we made it through it. We had to put what little savings we had back in to the business, we had to scratch the laughable retirement fund, we did everything we could to make sure that staff got paid. And they did, not one ever had a check bounce. We may not have cashed ours, but they got theirs. And we have great customers, I will never forget the guy that told me that his usual 10 minute drive took him almost 3 hours. And he didn’t care, that he would parachute in to our store if that was what was needed, as he wouldn’t go anywhere else. I gave him his feeders for free. We watched neighbors that had been there for years have to fold. We saw other small businesses that had fought tooth and nail end up bankrupt. The state offered “forgivable loans, up to 20K!” Isn’t that great??? Yeah, I don’t know a single business that took it, not one. The state can kiss our collective asses. The store that we own is a little pet shop. A specialty store. The oldest single owner reptile store in the nation. And we are under attack. Again.
When you say reptile, people get scared. Or people just think that they are “icky”. Snakes, lizards, frogs, oh my! “Kill em all! They kill people, pets, kids, they are DANGEROUS!” Sound familiar? How many of you fight ignorance against having a gun? They are DANGEROUS! Get rid of them! Ban them! They just jump out and start killing people! Guess what, it’s bullshit. It is what happens when you don’t know about them, you aren’t familiar with them, and don’t know what they are really like. If you are not educated about them, it is very easy for the media to sway you. It’s easy to watch tv and believe that there are millions of feral burmese pythons in Florida and that they are eating all of the native wildlife. That they are going to spread through the US and take over the world. This is simply not true. They say that, but do not tell you that they have to have specific temperatures and humidity needs met, or they die. They don’t tell you about the dead ones found last winter when it got colder than usual in the very southern tip of Florida, which, by the way, is the only place in the US that has even the slightest chance of them surviving. They say that they can adapt to environments that are not ideal and still breed and thrive, and this is also bullshit. They like to say that it’s because of people just letting them go when they are tired of them, that if people aren’t allowed to breed and sell them anymore, that nobody will be just tossing them out the door. In actuality, genetic testing has shown that they were from a large breeding facility that was completely destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. Now, I am not saying that nobody ever has chucked their unwanted pet out the door. No more than I would say that nobody has ever dumped a cat or a dog. But of course, those are cute and furry and never cause any damage, right???
The HSUS, PPETA, and Senator Nelson from Florida first tried to pass HR 669. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hr669
This was in 2009, and they failed. This would have allowed any “nonnative” animal at any time to be banned. This would have included hamsters, gerbils, most snakes and lizards, frogs, ferrets, chinchillas, all tropical fish, you name it. Want to get your kid a parakeet? Nope. Wayne Pacelle, whom is at the top of the shit pile that is the “Humane Society” of the United States, doesn’t want anybody to be able to own any pets. And you all know that PETA is the same kind of crazy. And yes, I put “Humane Society” in quotes for a reason. They are NOT a humane society. Just google the truth about the humane society, or, here’s another link. http://www.humanewatch.org/ Because of the fact that they over reached and went for everything, they failed. Fish people, Bird people, Reptile people, Small mammal people, everybody banned together and did not let it happen. I personally got over 800 letters signed and mailed, and that was just out of our little store.
They realized that they bit off more than they could chew. People like their fish tanks. Kids love their hamsters and gerbils and cute little fluffy pets. But snakes? Snakes are an easy way to get your foot in the door. Snakes are scary, and there’s not a large enough group to fight for them. Introduce HR 996. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr996/text This is “To establish an improved regulatory process for injurious wildlife to prevent the introduction and establishment in the United States of nonnative wildlife and wild animal pathogens and parasites that are likely to cause harm.” Shouldn’t get anywhere… It’s the same damn thing! But wait! They DID get to pretty much out of nowhere get burmese pythons, african rocks, and yellow anacondas added to the Lacey Act. Remember all those tv blurbs about how burmese pythons were everywhere? They made it look like you couldn’t step outside your door without being attacked by a “GIANT KILLER SNAKE”! Shock and gasp! Yup, boom. US Fish and Wildlife used bad science and got them added. They lied. (again, shock, right?) The pets that people have had for years are no longer allowed across state lines. Get a job somewhere else and move? If you bring your pet that you have had for 15 years, you are breaking a federal law. You’ve got literally thousands of dollars invested in a breeding project? Too bad.
And now they want to make it even easier to add more. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-07-01/html/2013-15707.htm
This is the USFWS wanting categorical exclusion proposal from NEPA requirements. What this means is that they can add any animal at any time. No due process, no giving two shits about economic impact, nothing. Boom. And for the people that don’t realize that there is economic impact, go to http://market.kingsnake.com/ and click through the classifieds. People put years in to breeding projects, and those babies cost some serious money.
So here is me now begging, pleading, and asking nicely even for all y’all to help. Takes a minute, less if you just do the copy and paste. Let me know that all this typing was worth it. That you all also would like to tell the HSUS and PETA to go *bleep* themselves.
http://usark.org/campaign/usfws-categorical-exclusion/
This one has some more info on what they are doing.
http://usark.org/action-alert/usfws-categorical-exclusion-2/
Thank you all in advance,
Sara
Picture added by Xeno. A not too clear shot of my last girl: Lucy
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