I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this, but there's a couple bills circling around that need to be prevented from passing. These bills (HR2811 and S373) threaten the reptile industry/hobby. Everyone nationwide who owns "large" boids is at risk of losing them, myself included. This bill has been getting pushed, especially since that incident a few months back where an irresponsible owner's python got loose, and strangled his girlfriend's 2-year old daughter ([link]). This is a tragic incident, however, this man lived in Florida, where you are required to have a permit to own a large python. This permit also means having the snake's enclosure inspected by officials to make sure it's escape proof; this man had no permit, nor the proper caging for such a large animal. It's largely agreed that this man was the only person to blame for this incident.

The government is trying to pass this bill under the ideology that these animals are too dangerious to keep as pets (termed "injurious" animals). Here are some statistics on annual deaths caused by animals according to [link] (sources provided on the site).

Human Deaths Caused By Animals

Animal Type
Per Year

Horses
219

Dogs
14

Reticulated pythons
0.3

Burmese pythons
0.1

Other pythons
0.0

Boa constrictors
0.0

Other boas
0.0

Looking at these numbers, it's pretty easy to see that large snakes are the least of our worries. There are plenty of legal things out there that kill much more a year than any animal-related deaths combined: [link]

Tobacco
435,0001

Poor Diet and Physical Inactivity
365,000

Alcohol
85,000

Microbial Agents
75,000

Toxic Agents
55,000

Motor Vehicle Crashes
26,347

Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs
32,000

Suicide
30,622

Incidents Involving Firearms
29,000

Homicide
20,308

Sexual Behaviors
20,000

All Illicit Drug Use, Direct and Indirect
17,000

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Such As Aspirin
7,600

Even if you don't own a large snake, or any reptiles at all, please help us to stop this ludicrous bill from passing. We responsible snake owners shouldn't have to pay the price for other's crimes or mishaps. You can find more information and updates at this link here:http://www.pijac.org/governmentaffairs/s373forum.asp

It's not just about the large snakes, soon it will be lizards, frogs, salamander, exotic birds, and exotic fish, all of which have been threatened to be banned before.


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This may not seem like a big deal to anyone not part of the hobby, but I assure you, if this bill passes, the government is one step closer to taking away more of our hard-earned freedoms. I bid you take the time to let your voice be heard, if not for yourselves, then for your fellow people.

Please sign the petition to stop this unfair, unjust, and harmful ban!