Lie To Us. Prove My Point.

Colin Weaver — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:09:09 +0000

Yesterday the Orlando Sentinel posted a position piece supporting a nationwide ban on all pythons. At the end of the article you had the option to vote ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ to their position. By mid-afternoon more than 2/3 of repsondants had voted ‘thumbs down’, disagreeing with the article. At that time, the ability to vote was removed from the article. Today, the site is proudly reporting that 95.1% of respondents AGREED with their article. Don King would call that a ‘falsitude’.

For the whole story, please read this post by my buddy Adam over at nohr669.com. He breaks it down and has the screen shots to prove it!

I often lament the danger the media poses to the reptile community (amongst other things). The audacity of the lie that is apparently being told by the Orlando Sentinel is another powerful example of a news source fabricating the truth in an effort to further their own agenda.

If you are a reptile owner and are growing sick of the ridiculous way in which reptiles are being portrayed by the media, please take a moment to contact the editors of the Orlando Sentinel and tell them that you are aware of this deceit and request they post a retraction.

You can contact them via your favorite mechanism by clicking here.

History Channel and Monster Quest Doing its Part To Spread Misinformation and Fear

Colin Weaver — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:24:21 +0000

A few nights ago I happened to catch Monster Quest on the History Channel. The episode was all about ‘giant killer snakes’ and whether or not they exist. The issue I have with the episode is the way in which it brought up the issue of large constrictors thriving in the Florida Everglades. They showed photographic evidence of their existence and interviewed several animal capture professionals who work in the area. I am not going to doubt that there is a population of reptiles living in the Everglades that is not supposed to be there. Hurricane Andrew in in 1992 could easily be blamed for the accidental release of many pet animals into the wild. Once in such as hospitable environment for reptiles it is easy to believe that they are thriving. What really bugs me is that the History channel showed an ominous animation depicting the United States being consumed in the spread of these animals throughout the entire country. Their animation had only one purpose: to elicit a reaction of fear from the uneducated viewer. Many people are not fans of snakes (an understatement). To prey on their fear and suggest to them that large constrictors can soon be living in their neighborhood, eating their cats and attacking their children is an incredibly irresponsible use of the credibility of the History channel. It is also the kind of fear mongering that is going to help get the proposed federal ban on reptiles made into law. Anybody who knows even a little bit about reptile physiology knows that such a spread is impossible.

The reptile hobbyist and reptile breeder is in danger of legally losing their right to own and breed many types of reptiles. Check out my previous post discussing the legislation to ban the ownership of reptiles. Don’t be fooled by what you read in the proposed bill. The legislation is not only about banning the import of certain species. It is about banning the ownership, breeding and sale of these species as well. It is a very real and very serious threat to reptile business. The History Channel and its show Monster Quest has helped to propagate fear among the uneducated and aided in getting this ridiculous legislation turned into law.

Colin Weaver

East Coast Reptile Breeders » banning

Lie To Us. Prove My Point.

History Channel and Monster Quest Doing its Part To Spread Misinformation and Fear