Thank you all who signed and shared. We are quickly nearing the date for the next conservation commission advisory board meeting, which will be on February 24th at Auburn University. I will do my best to present our case as effectively as possible and secure our rights as native pet owners. I want to be clear and upfront about the situation though. This is not going to be easy. In all likelihood, they will completely stonewall me and dismiss my argument. If this happens, we can't let that deter us. We have to show them that we're not going anywhere, we're not backing down, and we will have our rights restored, no matter how long it takes. I will update as soon as I can after the meeting and pass on any information I can. If you want to get involved in the process, here are a few things you can do to help:

1. Talk about it. Talk to your family, friends, coworkers, and anyone who will listen about what the state is doing to our pets and what we're doing to stop them.
2. Get signatures. Ask anyone you talk to to sign and share the petition and send them the link on this page.
3. Post it. Print out a poster with a brief description of this petition and the QR code and link text to post in public places where allowed. This can be at your local veterinarian, shelter, grocery store, park, Town Hall, library, and any other place where allowed.
4. Post to social media. Make a post on social media with the link on this page. Share often and at different times of day. Direct message and mention other people who might be interested in sharing. 
5. Make videos. Posts on tictoc and YouTube (especially shorts) can get a lot of views. Make a short video explaining what we're doing and how others can get involved, be sure to include a link in the description.
6. Contact representatives. Send an email to Governor Ivey, commissioner Blankenship, or members of the board. Remember to be polite and to the point. Something simple like "I support legalizing possession of native species as pets in Alabama and am deeply displeased at the conservation commission's attitude towards native pet ownership, as responsible owners should not be subject to such abuses as having their pets taken and killed. Please remove (the species on this petition, plus any others not mentioned you would like to see legalized) from the prohibited species list in section 220-2-26 of the Alabama code."
7. Come to the meeting. The meeting will be at Auburn University on February 24th at 9am. Additional info can be found on the outdoor Alabama website. Show up to show your support and meet me, if you like. If you do, please be respectful. We're trying to convince these people to do something for us, so a bad attitude will be at best counterproductive.

Thank you all again for your support. This is a grassroots movement paid for by myself. I can't pay for commercials, billboards, or sponsorships, and I have no means of getting the word out other than supporters like you. If you want this to be a reality, it's all up to us. In short, without people like you signing, sharing, talking to others, and making our voices heard, this movement dies and pets around the state will continue to be stripped from their loving homes by the steel cable of a catchpole around their necks, forced into a cage, and killed by euthanasia and decapitation for a test that the state knows all too well will be negative. Real lives are at stake, and you and I are the only ones standing in the way of their certain death.

Thank you- Brent