This is my letter to Congress concerning H.R. 669. I sent it to several representatives in my state, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, even though I don't live in their districts (Yes, I sent it to my rep as well!). I'm posting it publicly so you guys can use it as a template for your own, but please try to put your letter in your own words. For every member of congress to get the same letter sent by hundreds of different people looks bad, to say the least, and looks like you're not really concerned about how the issue would affect you personally.
When writing your letter, be cordial and professional. it's okay to be emotional, but try not to sound angry or too over-the-top. Be sure to include your full name, address, email address and phone number or your letter won't be considered valid. And please use spell check! State as many facts as you can about the issue and keep your letter to two pages or shorter (Mine's long but that's because I have a lot to say, lol). Reps don't like trying to wade through long letters or emails. Also, post sources in your letter if you've been able to research the topic.
My letter is as follows:
February 20th, 2009 3:02 PM
Dear Congressman Dreier,
I am writing this letter as a plea, asking that you vote against the bill H.R. 669 "To prevent the introduction and establishment of nonnative wildlife species that negatively impact the economy, environment, or other animal species' or human health, and for other purposes." This bill is based on a non-scientifically-based report and would do nothing to prevent or erradicate invasive species as it suggests. Instead, it will further weaken an already unstable economy by effectively shutting down an entire industry. There are many people who captive-breed the species listed in H.R. 669, who own taxable buisnesses and pay said taxes. These animals are their livelyhood, and, were this bill to pass, they not only would be forced to keep animals that could no longer be sold legally, they would be forced to seek government assistance because of the extreme hardship put upon them by losing their sole source of income, having a surplus of mouths to feed and not being able to find a job in a job-deficient economy. Therefore, there would be more strain placed on an already over burdened welfare system as a result, which could lead our nation into the next Great Deppression.
Of the animals listed in the bill, I'm going to narrow the scope to one group: reptiles. This is the type of animal I personally keep, so I can speak more factually about them. Aside from Florida and adjacent areas of the Gulf Coast, the animals in queston cannot survive unattended in the 48 states. The climate is wrong. A tropical or sub-tropical reptile would die in a matter of days or weeks in climates such as those experienced in, for example, Arizona or Maine. They simply cannot survive in conditions that are not optimal, i.e. identical or near-identical to those in their countries of origin. Therefore, they could not live long enough to establish and procreate, and could not become invasive.
Furthermore, reptiles carry very little communicable-to-humans diseases or bacteria. The one bacterium they're most commonly associated with is salmonella, and a person is ten times more likely to contract salmonella from a pet dog than a pet reptile. There's a CDC report on it. (1) A far more reasonable approach would be to let the individual states handle it as per their ecosystem and to enforce already existing laws. There should be stricter state-by-state regulation of the sale of the five truly giant snakes; Python molurus (Burmese python), P. reticulatus (Reticulated python), P. m. molurus (Indian rock python), P. sebae (Central African rock python) and Eunectes murinus (Green anaconda).These five types of snakes are the only ones that get to a size that can injure a person over the age of 13 or so; no other snake species get this large.(2) The regulation should be such as akin to that used to regulate big cats; paperwork, microchipping and hefty fines and/or jail time if a snake is released by the owner. Not just everyone should have access to large constrictors it's true, but responsible people should not be banned from keeping them, either. There should be legislation in place calling for more thorough sales records kept between breeder and buyer or petshop and buyer so these animals can be better regulated. That would help more than H.R. 669 ever would. The process alone would weed out many people who would be unable or unwilling to keep and care for these animals once they reached adult size.
There should also be a better support system for owners of exotics that must relinquish them for any reason. The animal shelters and organizations that are in place now (such as HSUS and ASPCA-based shelters) do not have the capabillity or know-how to deal with exotics and most that fall into their care end up euthanized, instead of rehomed to caring people experienced in their husbandry. It should be easier for knowledgeable private individuals with the means to start non-profit exotic shelters and sanctuaries and publicize them; under current regulations it's near-impossible for a layperson to start one. The institiution of more exotic shelters and sanctuaries would also mean less dumping of these animals, which would serve to keep these animals off the 'injurious' list, as they would have someplace to go besides a storm gutter, a park, etc. So I'd like to propose the idea for a more layperson-friendly system for starting a non-profit animal rescue organization.
Also, since there are still relatively few established individual non-native reptiles and most are in the Gulf, I'd like to propose that they could be removed by a skilled group of volunteers who would go and catch these animals humanely and place them in experienced, permanent homes. I myself am willing to be a volunteer for this, and I know many other people who would step up to this task. I hope it will be a consideration as a solution. Another issue that must be addressed is public education about these animals. There is so much misinformation and downright false information floating around about not only reptiles in general, but about our own native reptiles, and much of it instills unnecessary fear in people about these animals and ultimately leads to unnecessary deaths of the unfortunate animals they happen across. Our schools teach very little about our native wildlife, and it is a travesty. I would be willing to be a volunteer to help set up a better educational program about reptiles, exotics and our indigenous wildlife, which is something very lacking and sorely needed in our schools.
In addition, the focus should be shifted to already established injurious species, such as Felis catus (domestic cats), which, when feral, is the most injurious non-native species on the planet. And yet, they are exempt from H.R. 669. Cats are the only known species of animal to kill for sport, even if they are domesticated and well cared for, whereas large constrictors kill prey once every one to two months as a means of survival. In addition, cats become feral quickly and reproduce almost as quickly. More emphasis should be put on the spay/neuter programs for feral cat colonies and on punishment for owners who illegally dump their cats, as well as stricter enforcement of spay/neuter and microchipping laws. This would greatly reduce this injurious species' impact on enviroment and economy by proactive measures to ensure feral cats do not breed and more domestic cats do not get intergrated into those populations.
In conclusion, I'd like to sincerely thank you for your time in reading my letter and considering my proposals and the reptile- and exotic-pet community's position on this bill, which would be far more injurious to our economy and way of life if passed than any non-native 'invasive' species could ever be. Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jennifer D. Bellew
Reptile Rescuer, Breeder and Herpetologist-In-Training
P.O. box 820 Wrightwood, CA 92397
714-287-0694
dragon_in_the_pines@live.com NOTES: (1) Link to CDC studies:
http://www.rexano.org/SafetyFrame.htm http://www.rexano.org/CDC_SalmonellaFrame.htm (2) "Burmese Pythons Plus Reticulated Pythons and Related Species" By Phillippe de Vosjoli with Roger Kingenberg, DVM. Part of "The Herpetological Library", published by Advanced Vivarium Systems. Copyright 2005, Advanced Vivarium Systems, Inc.
