This stuff is so upsetting. These people are making laws about reptiles when they know nothing about them. I support USARK and I’m always pushing other reptile keepers to do the same. All we can do is try to stand together.
I watched this happen to the vape industry. They attacked with bills, stopped delivery options and more until 1000's of businesses closed and sent many x-cigarette smkoers back to the Cancer sticks. Big Tobacco won that battle. I hope the reptile community pulls together better on this issue than the vape industry did.
I was there. If it’s just gonna be fear mongering and “think about muh kids” then we have no chance as keepers. Yes we have usark but I just don’t think it has the political pull that it needs to affect the change it needs to rn.
Animal education is the biggest thing lacking in the educational system snd the biggest thing that will cure this generational fear of exotics. Never give up
Well, the vape industry made some huge mistakes themselves too though, such as stating that their products were risk free. It did hurt their case a lot when research proving the opposite arose. The vape industry didn't only appeal to tabacco smokers, it also appealed to non-smokers. Many of those former non-smokers that started vaping are now stuck in hospital for the rest of their lives, struggling to breathe every single day. Visit one of them some day, you might learn a thing or two!
@@gecksnek389 It is not just fear.. haha. You say that as if the government is simply looking to bully animal keepers.. The reason for the bill Mr. Geck Snek, is rather simple. Exotic animals pose a risk for the ecological balance of nature. The risks are huge, one simple snake could cause the extiction of 500 different species of flora and fauna because that is how an ecological system functions. Nature is all connected, so adding in potential new species holds the risk to wipe out the entire system. The government wants to prevent this, hence the bill!
“Lobbyist only care about the people that give them money” Sad but so true- the working class of America holds no weight when it comes to these kind of things and it’s sad because we give our fair share in taxes- we pay taxes for living- food- meds- land we own and clothes on our back - but when it comes to our voices being heard the lobbyist are deaf
Hey Brian, I've been a part of this fight since HR669 was very first drafted back in what, 2008? Thank you for being a part of this community and fighting for all us. I've sent thousands of emails to my reps over the years and have been a paying member of usark from its inception. Can't believe we have to keep running over the same ground time and time again, but people like us will never give up the fight for us to keep our pets.
i ended up sending the email. i hope my hook introduction works. Letting others know that we love the "unloveable" and that birds are included who are very much loved. The overwhelming of animal rescues. I hope they have some sort of a heart if the point is to protect the environment.
I was tryna send an email am some shit happened i hate technology 😒 one thing they need to know this will not stop transport of the animals now they will be subject of blackmarket transport in messed up ways animals will be dumped off more making things way worse animals getting lose where they were not
This definitely is scary and we all need to do our part to fight this I’ve been a USARK member for awhile now and I’ve had to give up reptiles before and never want that to happen again and don’t wish anyone has to go through that. I treat my animals as my babies and they are part of my family. Please everyone do your part because this will only get bigger and effect all keepers. Thank you Brian for making this video the more people that know the better 🙏🏼
It's crazy what we deal with Brian. Tons of commercials about homeless pets needing help but they want to create more homeless pets.......... Also if you keep reptiles and you are reading this and you don't donate to USARK your part of the problem. They are literally the only legal group that helps us!
Yes, many of these people don't care about homeless pets or animal welfare. Many of them want all use of animals by humans to end, which means killing all domestic animals and those in captivity!
I sent the letter to my rep and got a USARK membership tonight. This law would irreparably damage the pet industry. It also gives unelected bureaucrats the power to change the law on a whim with their white list.
This is so sad and frustrating. I can't understand the people that want to deprive others of their pets and/or livelihoods. All just because reptiles are different. I really hope this doesn't get passed. I will donate to USARK asap and send an email to my state's representative. I'm so thankful for USARK fighting for our rights! I hope we can win this one and some day more people learn the truth of how amazing reptiles are!
New to reptile keeping and never appreciated the importance of USARK. Just joined after watching your video. Wish more folks with substantive followings on here would help spread the news...
Hope it all works out for you. I’m in Ireland myself where reptile keeping is a much smaller thing. Crazy thing here is there’s absolutely no laws around it so absolutely anyone can keep venomous in a flimsy enclosure in their bedroom for all anyone knows (and it does happen!).
Really hope this don’t go through Brian. I’m in the uk and I’ve been watching your videos for the last couple of months as I’m new to boa keeping- keep fighting them
Arrgh 😖 That's really a serious problem you're talking about today. Unfortunately, the situation in Spain is even worse. Politics is simply against any kind of animal keeping and reptiles have the worst reputation of all. The prejudices against reptile keepers are tremendous wherever you go. We need a lobby to 'clean' our image before they will prohibit the hobby
That's insane. I'm not America, but it's this law against your constitution? You should be free to move in your own country with your pet. If you got your animal legally, there should be no movement restrictions with the country.
I really hope this doesn’t happen! There are so many great reptile keepers in the US that add so much to the hobby. I wish legislators would actually take advice from the experts. I do think it would be great for there to be more regulation on petkeeping in general, with courses or exams people need to complete to get licensed before being able to purchase an animal. That way you can be sure that new owners understand what they are getting into and they have made a real effort. Some recognition that the person is dealing with a live animal and not a piece of property. But to just outlaw something without really considering all the different facets is just stupid.
Yes this could potentially affect 10s of millions of exotic pet owners (not just reptile keepers) in the US. And they are trying to sneak it into a bill for something completey different and hoping no one will notice.
@@BrianBoas Agreed. Sneaking unrelated subject matter into bills for something completely different should be illegal. Unfortunately it happens all the time for topics that really deserve and require additional work.
Yes, but that's the easiest way for them to get things like this passed! The bills are so long there's no way any of the congress people could even read them!
Thank you for bringing this up. It's important that we see how the government is trying to strip away freedom one piece at a time. I'm also an avid 2A proponent, and it's really obvious in that community what is going on. Every hobby that I'm even a little in, it just keeps building up. We need to realize that when we allow these people to take away our freedoms in one area, it just makes it that much easier in others.
By stopping people from owning, trading or transporting them their treatment will get worse.. you are so clueless it is hilarious.. but also really sad. The best thing that can happen to animals is them being able to live in nature, in their own environment. This bill tries to prevent exotic species from destroying current ecosystems. It is very needed! This video maker only wants to paint the government with the darkest brush he can find. He doesn't give a damn about nature and ecology as long as he gets to buy and sell his products he is fine with the devastation of nature!
It's rather despicable that they would try and just slip this through. I'm not even sure who this is supposed to benefit. Not to mention the economic harm this will undoubtedly have. Can't even imagine how frustrating this must be for keeper like yourself. I'll be visiting USARK's webpage to help in whatever way I can.
Well, mr.RomanSK. The reason for the bill is ecological balance. Ever heard of Australia's massive ecological blunder? The cane toad was introduced to their ecological systems. Those cane toads have destroyed countless rare species of animal. They totally destroyed natures balance. That is the risk of keeping animals. That is the reason for the bill! This video does nothing but paint the government with the darkest brush.. which is understandable as Brian Boas has a financial incentive. He sells gear related to animal keeping! This can explain the reason why he would spread this rather one-sided "information".
@@Habib_Osman So, you're assuming all pet keepers will just let their animals out? That most or all pet owners are bad and won't be responsible pet owners? Furthermore, the stated reason for the bill is economic stimulus. Putting this Lacey Act nonsense in the bill is deceptive at best. Not to mention the government overreach. In this country, we get to debate issues and vote on them. Federal Agencies are not supposed to have this much power, especially when they aren't answerable directly to voters.
This is really disgusting. Once again I shall write to my representative. Seems like as soon as one bill gets defeated they just write another one and try to jam it through. My representative gonna know me by name soon with all these pet banning laws I have to write him about.
Thank you so much for making this video and explaining what this means and how it would affect our community (the reptile keepers of this country) Much love ❤️
This is disgusting and discouraging that there are people who know nothing about these animals trying to get them banned as pets period. Not even knowing how amazing all of these animals can b, they are extremely intelligent great tame pets that I would trust more than most dogs 🤦♂️
100% and that's wrong they know nothing about the animals or even tell the facts. just hype up the bad media about them, that is mostly false judgmental uneducated biased opinions.
Florida, as you mentioned, is a local problem that should be locally dealt with. For example, why would you be afraid of a "wild" Burmese python in Alaska, for example?
Looking at the notes from Rick Crawford and USARK, there's a good chance this won't pass or be changed heavily for the exact concerns of it being far too broad, thank God.
For some people, their agenda is stopping all use of animals by humans for any purpose. Big snake keepers are an easy target because we are viewed as being on the fringe of society and the general public is grossly misinformed about the actual dangers of these animals. But this is just the start.
The reason is that exotic animals can utterly destroy ecological balance causing hundreds of native species to go extinct. That's the reason for the bill.
@@4570sharps Are you curious for whether the bill intends to mitigate ecological damage or are you interested in examples of ecological devastation because of introduction of exotic species?
so i won't be able to buy a boa online from michigan to washington state? i want to buy one but this act is the only thing stopping me from ordering a boa. i've been doing some research to make sure it's legal but still can't find an exact answer. the way it sounds, sounds like a no but i want to make sure
You can write your senators and representative in congress. Also support the US Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK), the best advocate for reptile keepers. Follow the news updates on the USARK website and contact your members of congress as directed there.
Unfortunately, I knew this day would come when USARK won it's victory on a technicality on wording. We need a sweeping federal ruling that reptile keepers, all pet keepers, are within their rights to move their animals across state lines. If Florida's own state court wants to ban certain species, that is unfortunately a different battle, but we need basic protection here on a federal level.
If they ban boa constrictors I guarantee you they will ban all big constrictors as well as all smaller pythons and boas and all of your coulbrids as well! Refuse Resist!!! Do not 🚫 abide by their rules and or regulations! They only have power if we give it too them!
Damn. That's a big pain in the ass. Fortunately I live in the Philippines in which reptile and exotic keeping is legal. However, you have to register your exotic pets otherwise the authorities here will consider it illegal and confiscate them. Illegal wildlife trade is rampant here which explains why registration is required to ensure that the animals came from captivity and not from the wild.
Sample letter (also lots of Talking Points below) I implore you to remove the Lacey Act amendments found in the America COMPETES Act (Section 71102 on pages 1661-1665) as your constituent, dedicated advocate for ecological conservation, and pet owner. The lack of forethought involved makes these amendments rife with unintended consequences and government overreach. Not only would these amendments be devastating to thousands of businesses of all sizes (which is absolutely contrary to the purpose of the COMPETES Act), but millions of pet owners would be harmed. As seen previously when listing species as injurious under the Lacey Act, a heavy-handed brush is used to paint species as injurious that may only be an issue for one or two states, and hardly any large percentage of the U.S. While a concern for only one state, all other states feel the unjust implications and restrictions. For example, even after Florida had addressed injurious threats from certain snakes, the federal government still listed them as injurious and harmed thousands of owners and businesses across the U.S. where the snakes could not possibly have an impact. And now, while Florida has completely banned these species, herpetoculturists in all other states would suffer from the overreaching government action should these amendments pass into law. Even though peer-reviewed science found that these species risks to the continental U.S. were isolated to southern Florida and possibly a small spot in Texas (both states that had already regulated these species), the federal government felt compelled to take tyrannical action. If these amendments pass, the Lacey Act will leave pet owners everywhere unable to move across state lines with their family pets. This restriction would include prohibitions of interstate travel for veterinary care, for educational programs, and for relocation of family. The impact will be disproportionately felt by military service members, who are often relocated multiple times during a pet’s lifetime. The federal and appellate courts have already decided that a ban on interstate transportation with injurious species is not based on the original intent of Congress, but a gradual overreach by the federal agency. This upholds that banning interstate transportation is overreaching and that only the localities, or states, with legitimate range matches should consider regulations regarding these species. Incorporating interstate movements into the Lacey Act will turn law-abiding pet owners into potential criminals. Regulation of wildlife has traditionally been a matter reserved to the states. State borders are already secure from injurious and invasive species as those states have the authority to regulate them. States continue to take measures regarding such species and since the climate varies so greatly across the U.S., the states should decide which species need to be addressed, not the federal government which must consider the entirety of the U.S. as only one climate zone. I cannot elaborate enough on the need to regulate injurious species at the state and local levels, not nationwide by a federal agency. The interstate transport ban under the Lacey Act is not my only concern. The bill’s section titled Presumptive Prohibition on Importation is especially alarming. This section would allow for every non-native species to be treated as injurious, even if not listed as such. This language creates a white list (accepted) that produces a black list (banned) by default. The opportunity for injustice and oppressiveness is disturbing! Rather than this new knee-jerk and supreme authority provided to the federal agency, any expansion of the Lacey Act to create interstate movement bans and a ‘white list/black list’ scenario should include reforms to the injurious listing process, including proof of widespread impact based on sound, peer-reviewed science, and definitely not the biased, pseudo-science witnessed previously. I also believe that the role of the States should be preserved in matters related to the regulation of wildlife within their borders or through regional agreements. Individual states are best positioned to assess local threats and balance the relative costs and benefits of prohibiting species. These Lacey Act amendments are far-reaching and, frankly, un-American. Please realize that the Lacey Act amendments found within the America COMPETES Act are illogical and unjust. Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter. Have a good day. Sincerely, [YOUR NAME]
I have been doing nothing but sharing this topic sharing it sharing it sharing it. I have NEVER been this politically charged ever. And i won't stop either 😭 this is not right. Keep sharing keep talking and never give up until the very last second. Either we win or we go down with a bang.
" Money is the root 2 all evil huh " ,,, Man these law makers need to overlook the BS and Educate themselves on the animal matters at hand. We all have other things in this world that need major attention rather than to worry about trying to stop our beloved animals which have blesset healing in all mannerism. Roads need to be fix ,, Health Care system for us all needs to be solved the right way ,, We still have poor people around that needs help ,, there are still Hoods and Projects around and u have the Sports Draft every year and that is Loads of money just sitting around just to play a sport. If the money is spent right like it suppose to be you'll won't know the meaning of a Hood or a Project or a Homeless person it would probably mean a tool of some sort or different kind of paper or a swimming pool part ,, u do the thought on the matter. You have these machines that makes the money and they say we have money problems " Huh " .. Think Deeeeep' .. This is not planet earth it is planet Hump ' The ways just seems to do us all over n over huh. 🕶🕶🕶🕶🕶🕶
Hopefully the wording regarding the Lacey act will be removed from the America COMPETES act before it goes to the Senate, or it will die in the Senate. But we all need to contact our congressional representative as outlined at the US ARK page.
BTW, Florida isn't just people setting their animals free. I believe they had a couple of hurricanes that had a big hand in that as well. I could be wrong in my opinions--i am open to education. Thank you.
@@BrianBoas Thank you, Brian Boas, for adding that bit of common sense I forgot to include in my original remark. BTW, I'm a subscriber, again, thank you.
If we as Americans remembered our second amendment rights and had the balls to use it, this would never happen. It’s our fault as Americans at this point for letting our country get like this.
@@BrianBoas and don’t vote for. I’m just getting into the hobby as well. And your videos are easily the most informative. Wish I knew someone with this knowledge in Pennsylvania. I want to enter the hobby correctly and responsibly and this happens.
If nothing works (that would be really unfortunate, I am very sympathetic for those in the US and I hope something can be done), nothing being discussed about boas becoming illegal here in Canada, just restrictions on the popular retics and Burmese and in some provinces and venomous snakes in all provinces. Also lots of exotic vets available that treat boas.
This is the kinda stuff that literally changes my political leanings. I'd be willing to put up with a lot of crap I don't agree with if it meant helping this. Those "animal rights activists" care little what's actually best for animals. They usually just hate people, particular or all.
Alright.. which party doesn't give a damn about ecological balance and nature? That would be the party to vote on for you! The bill is made to protect nature by keeping exotic species out of current ecological systems. Pretty smart and good to do that! The maker of this video has only 1 intent: to paint the government with the darkest, most nasty brush he could find. It is misinformation.. sadly, nobody will stop this which causes so many misinformed people.
If you supposedly voted Democratic for years you contributed to this now problem. Democratic Politicians only care about how much they can line their pockets. Ever wonder how a Congress member paid 80,000.00 a year gets wealthy after 5 years.....paid off bribes. The government is crooked.
This part that talks about ...not been imported in sufficient quantities...hmm almost sounds like a dinner bell for poachers. Increase the quantity of potentially illegal animals now! Before the law changes, poach, poach...
Thanks for your comment Chris. Yes it will affect potentially millions and millions of people who work with any non domestic species of animal in a very bad way! Chris I would greatly appreciate if you would do a video letting your viewers know since this will also affect ball pythons. We need to contact our senators and let them know that this is unacceptable!
I wish the VOTER would pay attention to which particular political party is pushing for this legislation and remember them come election time. You may support a particular candidate or party for various reasons not realizing that the party you support is the one always trying to restrict your rights.
Legislation like this has been proposed by both sides. This was staryed by Rubio of Florida. It is 2,912 pages long and no guarantee that majoroty of Republican politicians voted against it because of the the Amendment added. Tarantula Collective put out a video about the fact that it is not just a red versus blue thing. Both sides love lobbyists.
The state of Colorado has pretty silly laws pertaining to hognoses, we can't buy or sell hognose snakes, reason? They're native so they are protected. It gets strange because we are allowed to go out and catch them. Garter snakes are native but no such protection.
Thanks for sharing. California has some pretty dumb laws also. Venomous is illegal, and gila monsters are illegal, but Mexican beaded lizards are legal to keep. Anything native is illegal, hence no Gila monsters.
@@BrianBoas same in Georgia I can't even keep a eastern king snake because they are native and a "protected" species that's why I shifted my attention to boas and planned to get a bci one day hopefully these law makers won't completely screw everything up for reptile keepers
Unfortuately the 3,000-page mockery of the U.S. political process called the "America COMPETES" act passed the house of representative on Friday. Now it's off to the senate, the last step in making this the law of the land! We really need to keep fighting this blatant attempt to strip the rights away from 10s of millions of people- not just reptile keepers, but anyone who works with an animal species other than a handfull of domestic animals! Please continue to call, write, e-mail, fax, and otherwise communicate with your senators, and follow the updated advice given at the US ARK page (the link is below the video description). This is our only hope!
I'm in a large portion of different reptile communities And I have to say not enough people are taking this seriously. I think the best way for us to get a lot of different people interested is to really emphasize that this is not just going to be about reptiles
Yes I agree- many huge reptile channels with 100,000s or millions of subscribers have been silent on this! We need to get the word out to everyone in the exotic pet community and keep contacting our senators as USARK advises!!!
I have mixed feelings about this whole ordeal. On one part not being able to get your animal to the vet if he lives across the state lines is not only absurd it is endangering the animal which they say they are protecting. On the other side there should be a limit on how much boas can be taken out of the wild so the local population doesn't decline. Still from the other point of view interest in boas and other large snakes can make people actually wish to protect them. both in captivity and in the wild. so like I said mixed feelings
@@BrianBoas that’s no good, I just got my first boa, I mean it’s not even in the mail yet. And I don’t have the space to breed rodents. Do you think that it’s still phesible to own one if my only option will be to buy frozen thawed?
I a hobbyist and don’t do this for a living. Many reptile breeders and most boa breeders are actually advanced hobbyists. That being said, we can support USARK who is fighting this legislation. Please contact your senators as USARK recommends. A petition is unlikely to make a difference.
@@BrianBoas I'll look into USARK. Petitions do work though. Our bank asked us to sign a petition to go against the government bill that would allow them to see all our transactions. I got an email a couple of weeks ago letting us know that they didn't succeed.
And, this Lacey amendment thing just reinforces the lack of education for the "phobic" population. We should be working to educate people, not pander to the (sometimes innocent) ignorant.
@@BrianBoas Not really. Ban all exotics, cat colonies, further expand breed specific legislation, and finally cats and dogs. Especially if they sneak an amendment in like this one. Peta and HSUS have been trying to pass this and get it to stick sonce 2014
This is absurd. Though, from my experience it's pretty easy to move illegal stuff between states :P That being said, one shouldn't have to be willing to commit a crime for something like this.
@@BrianBoas "So harmless" You say.. Didn't you state yourself that boa's are currently wreaking havoc on current ecosystems? Do you think exotic species have no chance to become invasive and disruptive? Or are you only saying that to suit your own narrative, to be able to keep on selling your products?
It’s a multi million dollar industry plus it’d lead to mass euthanasia when they’re not a threat in a lot of states. I understand why Florida is hardcore but some states exotic reptiles won’t make it far into fall....
Hurricane Andrew that passed through homestead and the red lands in South Florida in the early 90s destroyed a few large breading facilities so hundreds of burns that were being bread , during their hight of their popularity is why they are raoming the everglades not because 2 dudes shipped them and left a box open 😉
Yes, I've heard this before. But the animals likely came from multiple sources, including some escaped/ released pets as well as from hurricane damage. We do need to keep fighting.
A few pets let go even if it was 50 of them would not have been enough to create a viable breeding population considering the hundreds of thousands of acres that makes up south FL 😉
No, because then we could end up in jail and/or have huge fines for violating an absolutely ridiculous law. Plus a criminal record... So this woud definitely not solve the problem.
@@BrianBoas it's a ridiculous form of law enforcement they made up for BS 🐂💩 reasons! I believe in Natural law not 🚫 the law our corrupt government has laid upon us!!! Give them an inch they will want miles from us!!! We can beat them in one way shape form or another Brian! I guarantee you people will take the hobby and joy of keeping reptiles underground! Yes it's way more difficult but it's possible! Breeder's and hobbyist's did in the past and they will once again! If this stupid bill goes through as well their as planned they will eventually ban all reptiles!!! Our henious and corrupt government regardless of whether or not it's republican and or democrat puppet in office are slowly but surely passing more dictating and tyrancial laws upon us! Their just 2 sides too the same coin that's all! Their both VILE government trash 🗑️
Transporting animals via car is still not a terrible idea, there's the risk of being stopped which would be really bad for those with many snakes like Brian but if you own just one boa you can probably hide it among your moving boxes
If this lands on President Biden’s desk to sign into law, it will allow US Fish And Wildlife to do what they want and add whatever animals they want to the Lacey Act that they deem injurious
They will define a “white list” of a handful of permitted domestic species like dogs and cats and everything else, by default, would be deemed injurious and banned from interstate transport
Brian you always have good info but I've got to say you use 37 words when 5 will do, that combined with your monotone makes these videos hard to watch all the way through. Not trying to be mean just so you know.
@@BrianBoas it's a common problem man, like I said I just thought you should know and decided to comment here rather than on other videos because it was most apparent here. I swear I'm just offering constructive criticism because I like your info and expertise but those two things are obstacles.
