The one and ONLY python BAN thread (HR511)

[jaleely]

Uninformed are always the biggest problem. The uninformed and irrisponsible pet owners are also how we got to this point.

stephenbakir, you advised to sterilize and release them...why on *earth* would you do that? the facts are they *are* a non-native species. That's a terrible plan. Why wouldn't you just ship them back to the amazon or something or adopt them out? I mean, supposedly they are okay enough to own as pets to begin with...even the wild and imported ones. So, are they too used to the wild once in the everglades, to be adopted out? WHy would you catch and release? The whole point is people don't want them there.

[RandyRhoads]

Originally Posted by jaleely

Uninformed are always the biggest problem. The uninformed and irrisponsible pet owners are also how we got to this point.

stephenbakir, you advised to sterilize and release them...why on *earth* would you do that? the facts are they *are* a non-native species. That's a terrible plan. Why wouldn't you just ship them back to the amazon or something or adopt them out? I mean, supposedly they are okay enough to own as pets to begin with...even the wild and imported ones. So, are they too used to the wild once in the everglades, to be adopted out? WHy would you catch and release? The whole point is people don't want them there.

I was trying to refrain, but yeah, what the hell lol......they can still crush the enviornment for the next MANY years of its' life span, even if they can't reproduce.

[red ink]

Originally Posted by jaleely

Uninformed are always the biggest problem. The uninformed and irrisponsible pet owners are also how we got to this point.

Actually.. I would say it's not the uninformed that has caused the biggest problem but the apathy of the reptile hobby itself. If people cared enough not to sell just to anybody, not to buy from petshops, not to breed just for a quick buck, well then I would'nt think that the govt would have had to step in.

It's a big industry but unfortunately reptile hobbyist are still way way way outnumbered by non-reptile loving people. Given that it's a majority vote in a democracy, maybe the industry should have policed itself from the begining instead of chasing the bucks.

This is a wake up call to the hobby itself... be responsible or "they" step in.

[stephanbakir]

Originally Posted by jaleely

Uninformed are always the biggest problem. The uninformed and irrisponsible pet owners are also how we got to this point.

stephenbakir, you advised to sterilize and release them...why on *earth* would you do that? the facts are they *are* a non-native species. That's a terrible plan. Why wouldn't you just ship them back to the amazon or something or adopt them out? I mean, supposedly they are okay enough to own as pets to begin with...even the wild and imported ones. So, are they too used to the wild once in the everglades, to be adopted out? WHy would you catch and release? The whole point is people don't want them there.

I understand that, and I specifically stated to sterilize MALES and release them back into the wild. The project has worked with dozens of species, the main ones being sea lamprey and various other fish species.

The way it works is, those males go back into the wild, and yeah they kill the stuff they eat, but they compete with other males for breeding rights with females, and they may lose some battles, but the battles they win mean they there will be 20-45 less pythons in the wild, it sounds crazy but it works, and it works WELL.
As those burms get older, they overpower more and more non sterile males and every female they breed slugs out, meaning there are so many less babies popping up in the wild.

Originally Posted by RandyRhoads

I was trying to refrain, but yeah, what the hell lol......they can still crush the enviornment for the next MANY years of its' life span, even if they can't reproduce.

The damage they do is nothing compared to the damage ALL of the offspring they stop from popping up will do. 1 healthy male can breed 3-8 females in a season, more since mature male retics and burms are rapists... that male in the wild does their population more damage then simply removing him.