Herps you don't think should be kept as pets?

[CosmicOwl]

Hmm... this thread drifted into some weird territory.

If you think that the government is banning reptiles to control the populace, I think you're overestimating the coordination of the government. Most of these laws are passed on a state level, and they're passed out of irrational fears from the general population. Or in the case of certain states, to protect native animals. If the "government" really wanted to exert control over us, restricting the ownership of reptiles is pretty far down the list of ways to accomplish that goal.

I suppose this is my fault for not being explicit in my original post, but I was talking about animal welfare. Hence why I brought up wild caught hots and alligators being kept in kiddie pools. We can argue all day or which animals we have the "right" to possess, but that's not the point. The question is, does owning these animals result in a positive or negative outcome? Do the animals benefit or suffer? What are the impacts to the environment should these animals escape? And so forth.