Pro-H.R. 669 Folks Are Getting Agitated

So today I get this email from a girl named Leigh Anne Serrano.  This is how it reads:

Well, you’re email address says it all.  Yes, this would absolutely impact you.  But trying to mislead the public regarding this is absolute crap.  OR maybe you haven’t actually read the whole document in it’s entirety, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.  So, to help YOU become more informed, so that you don’t continue to misinform others, here is a section that I have cut and pasted directly from HR 669, just for you:
(f) Animals Owned Lawfully Prior to Prohibition of Importation- This Act and regulations issued under this Act shall not interfere with the ability of any person to possess an individual animal of any species if such individual animal was legally owned by the person before the risk assessment is begun pursuant to subsection (e)(3), even if such species is later prohibited from being imported under the regulations issued under this Act.
You know, you could look at it in a good way…..It could make the lives of the snakes already out there so much more valuable, and so much less likely to be dumped, abandoned, killed when no longer wanted.  And if you really love those creatures, that will make you happy.   All in all, what you or I or any of us want is irrelevant, the big guys do what they want (think bailout money, it was given….)   I just hate propaganda filled with alarm tactics that are false.  There are enough breeders, hobbiest, enthusiest out there that will side with you based on fact alone(this will shut you down) without resorting to circus ads.  If you are proud of who you are and what you do, have some dignity.
Leigh Anne Serrano

So I’m thinking she’s one of the haters.  I’m glad to have received her email because it illustrates a few important points.  One, there are a lot of people out there who don’t want us to be able to own and breed our animals and two, they are confused.  Here is my response to her:

Hi Leigh Anne,

I appreciate your email but I don’t like that you think that I’m misleading
people.  I have read and re-read the proposed law and I am aware that I
will be allowed to continue to own the animals I have today.  But it will
prohibit me from breeding them, selling them, trading them or transporting
them across state lines.  This includes the animals I currently own; not
one’s I might import  in the future.  In fact, I don’t import at all.  All
my animals are captive bred either by me or other breeders around the
country.  This bill will eliminate the trade of captive bred animals, not
imports.

So no, the animals I have will not become more valuable.  They will become
useless.  The hundreds of thousands of dollars I have invested in my
business will be lost.

So, with respect, you do not have all the facts.  It is you who are
confused.  This is something that will devastate the pet trade but I am
suspecting that this is what you want.

Colin Weaver

If you would like to help Leigh Anne Serrano further understand what the passage of HR 669 will mean you can contact her at lserrano3@cox.net.  I’m sure she will appreciate the continued education that the reptile industry can drop on her.

Regards,

Colin Weaver