HR 669 - Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act

I received an email today from Vince at Screameleons. I thought it warranted posting. I've contacted my state reps, I thought many of you might want to as well. It read as follows:

"Guys,

We don't normally send out emails like this. Again, if you don't
wish to receive updates from us, please unsubscribe using the link
at the bottom.

Anyways, I was made aware of a bill, that if passed, will affect
all chameleon hobbyist. In a few words, chameleons along with
other non-native pets will be banned. The Youtube video posted in
the link below explains things much better.

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=BHx07&m=1bRxVfYeYuVPbL&b=xYw9DKp.1zaAtOgmK6AHmw

We've done our part in submitting a letter to our representative.
We encourage everyone else to do the same. The link above explains
everything.

Thanks again.

Vincent

Farrah & Vincent
http://www.screameleons.com "

I was just going to make the same post. This is ridiculous...has to be stopped. My life would seriously be less important if this bill got passed...what the heck would we do for fun??

This is insane and unfair. I heard it was 6 years in jail for each pet..

liquidsweetness said:

I received an email today from Vince at Screameleons. I thought it warranted posting. I've contacted my state reps, I thought many of you might want to as well. It read as follows:

"Guys,

We don't normally send out emails like this. Again, if you don't
wish to receive updates from us, please unsubscribe using the link
at the bottom.

Anyways, I was made aware of a bill, that if passed, will affect
all chameleon hobbyist. In a few words, chameleons along with
other non-native pets will be banned. The Youtube video posted in
the link below explains things much better.

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=BHx07&m=1bRxVfYeYuVPbL&b=xYw9DKp.1zaAtOgmK6AHmw

We've done our part in submitting a letter to our representative.
We encourage everyone else to do the same. The link above explains
everything.

Thanks again.

Vincent

Farrah & Vincent
http://www.screameleons.com "

Click to expand...

WE CAN E-MAIL PEOPLE, BUT ALSO WE CAN MAKE FACE BOOK GROUPS, IT IS VERY EASY AND HITS ALOT OF PEOPLE AND WILL SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE! FOR THE PETS SAKE, DO IT! Please!

I have a thread like this to and yes it needs to stop

Writting hard copy letters and telephoning your politicians will have a much bigger impact than emails or on-line petitions.

I'd suggest that everyone do EVERYTHING they can, including email, paper letters, twitter, facebook, myspace... and EVERYTHING ELSE!! For some of us, its not only our pets, but our living at stake! Pets are bad enough to lose, but our jobs and income as well??

Yes that's the best way, to make virtual groups The politicans will laugh about this. Write real letters and phone with them like Sandra said !!!

eisentrauti said:

Yes that's the best way, to make virtual groups The politicans will laugh about this. Write real letters and phone with them like Sandra said !!!

Click to expand...

I made a group and i have at least 100 people on it, its not the group but the fact that i directed every one to the website http://www.nohr669.com/ that way they are told by the website exactly what to do.

I'm gonna send some pictures of baby chameleons to make them realize how cruel they're being!

Wow, I'm in shock, I just saw the video, read a bit about it and seems quite unrealistic to me. How could they propose something like this without thinking about the economic consequences? I am not sure guys, but I don't see this happening. You have our support, it's a shame we can't help more.

well i talked to the franchise owner at petland, and he said this is not the first time this has been tried, and has failed 6 other times in the past since he opened his business. we still need to douse the fire out though!

oh and apparently PETA is pushing this pretty hard form what he said =/

I would go as far to say this is unconstitutional.

I visit a multitude of other forums and I have posted there as well for support to stop this.

If you read it for what it is (its hard with all that legal crap in it) i dont think chameleons will be affected by this.

It does say that non native species will be banned, BUT thise species have to have the ability to be able to sustain themselves in the wild, and be of harm to the environment in which they are introduced.

Yes chameleons can sustain themselves in the wild, over on the west coast of florida there is a growing population of Veiled Chameleons, as well as the Jacksons in Hawaii.

Chameleons, in my opinion, cannot in any way, shape, or form harm the environment into which they may or may not be introduced. Chameleons do not kill people, eat crops or anything like that. They eat bugs and not that many of them really (unless we are talking about babies and they only eat a lot for a short period)

I can see some species of snakes and other reptiles being affected by this, but not "the petsmart" selection of reptiles or chameleons for that matter.

I still say we write can call our representative and tell them this is bogus and that it should not pass, and yes this bill has been proposed many many times, and failed.

you fail to understand the way government works. Any non-native species that can be invasive will be considered a threat, and be banned. ANY species that is invasive is a threat to the environment simply by the fact that it is invasive, speaking in environmental terms.

Veileds are said to be a problem in Hawaii...
"A breeding population of veiled chameleons poses a serious threat to birds and other native wildlife in the area."...
http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/news/2003/news-release-january-30-2003

Dunnigan said:

If you read it for what it is (its hard with all that legal crap in it) i dont think chameleons will be affected by this.

It does say that non native species will be banned, BUT thise species have to have the ability to be able to sustain themselves in the wild, and be of harm to the environment in which they are introduced.

Yes chameleons can sustain themselves in the wild, over on the west coast of florida there is a growing population of Veiled Chameleons, as well as the Jacksons in Hawaii.

Chameleons, in my opinion, cannot in any way, shape, or form harm the environment into which they may or may not be introduced. Chameleons do not kill people, eat crops or anything like that. They eat bugs and not that many of them really (unless we are talking about babies and they only eat a lot for a short period)

I can see some species of snakes and other reptiles being affected by this, but not "the petsmart" selection of reptiles or chameleons for that matter.

I still say we write can call our representative and tell them this is bogus and that it should not pass, and yes this bill has been proposed many many times, and failed.

Click to expand...

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-669

From what I see, these all apply to chams, even if in a somewhat roundabout way (what may be a few bugs to you are a big deal and a resource to native species in an ecosystem...it is all a balance!):

"(7) the likelihood that the species would harm wildlife resources in the United States;

(8) the likelihood that the species would harm native species that are rare or native species that have been listed as threatened species or endangered species in the United States under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

(9) the likelihood that the species would harm habitats or ecosystems in the United States;

(10) the likelihood that pathogenic species or parasitic species may accompany the species proposed for importation"

The whole listing process suggests that if a species isn't already approved, it is banned until approved. Guilty until proven innocent. If not enough is known about an animal to decide whether it should be approved or banned, it is banned. If it hasn't been considered at all , it is banned.

One of the big problems with the bill is that it is on a federal level and uses a blanket type policy that covers the whole US. This is stupid because chameleons (and most other reptiles) may be able to live in the everglades, but will not survive a Maine winter or really anywhere else. I can totally understand wanting to put control on invasive and potentially invasive species on a localized level, but it is totally asinine to apply a policy like this to the whole US. Even then, a banning of certain species isn't really viable either...I think controlled ownership via testing, inspection and permits is a better option, but this will never happen because the money that is required to make it happen is not part of the equation.

Chameleons would be banned...also, they are a threat to native species of insects, some endangered. Most reptiles would be banned- they make a point in this bill of saying that anything potentially "causing harm" to a person would be prohibited. Reptiles are so commonly touted as disease ridden balls of salmonella waiting to kill you at first chance, so it makes sense they would be banned because they are a "public health hazard."

Anyone using the point of this bill being proposed and failing before as a reason not to be involved is being ridiculous because it is up again and will keep coming up again. If you don't act on it, you will be granting permission for it to happen. Silence is the voice of compliance.

You have to remember that the people really pushing for this bill, PETA and HSUS (not to be confused with your local dog and cat loving humane society-totally different organizations), have an ultimate goal of NO PET OWNERSHIP, PERIOD. There is plenty of reading out there on the matter.

*inserts foot into mouth*

I doubt they are looking at it economically, the way they see it, the economy has already failed. I'm sure they are thinking to themselves, what's a few more million lives affected. Anyways, this law wouldn't make sense in the case that a non-native species would become needed to support an ecosystem in the case one dies out. I think this law could cancel its self out. Look at fish hatcheries, they probably have many non-native fish that are needed to support and feed the economy. To me this law is just crazy.