HR 669 Update: July 1, 2009

[ewurm]

I subscribe to updates from the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife. I have not seen any action on the bill whatsoever. There doesn't appear to be any revisions or amendments, nor any new bill introduced, as well as no voting on the subject. In short, we are in the clear so far, and hopefully the issue is dead for this year. I will be continuing to monitor the situation and will update with any news. Great job on getting the word out on the issue.

[mr.reef24]

thank god hopefully this bill will never be heard of again or seen or changed revised or anything just layed to rest.

mr.reef24

[swede]

thanks for the update. not to claim an early victory, but seeing as how this bill has fallen off the face of the earth is encouraging to see that it would take a lot more effort to get this through the house and senate and have it become federally imposed. i think we have time to gain better understanding of how to crush any bill that tries to blanket the hobby we love with laws that would make everything we do illegal. I just don't see this being a focus anytime soon with so many other important things going on. politicians want to do things that pat themselves on the back. voters are not going to have this bill in their priority of concerns, and i think politicians realize this

[ewurm]

Even if the bill is inactive at this point, it's still also important to get the word out to other hobbyists that releasing aquarium fish is detrimental to our hobby. I wish the industry would focus more attention on education regarding this issue so that bills of this nature need not be introduced at all.

[swede]

Even if the bill is inactive at this point, it's still also important to get the word out to other hobbyists that releasing aquarium fish is detrimental to our hobby. I wish the industry would focus more attention on education regarding this issue so that bills of this nature need not be introduced at all.
true, but it goes far far beyond just our hobby. remember the story where the woman in connecticut had a chimp that she treated as a human? then he went crazy and ripped off part of her friend's face. i think cases like this are what propel the negative thinking of keeping exotic animals into the media forefront. the problem is people need to be responsible and also they need to be using common sense. this is unfortunately something that cannot be taught. people need to be responsible to not release non-natives into the wild. they also need common sense to know that this is not meant to happen. anytime humans have interfered with ecosystems in a way that is not natural to them, the results have in some level been a disaster. i do agree though that education and perhaps maybe even registering certain species could help. snakeheads need not be banned, but maybe some kind of certification or license should be offered. just an example. i think that would weed out a lot of people that should not be allowed to keep more than a pet rock

[ewurm]

true, but it goes far far beyond just our hobby. remember the story where the woman in connecticut had a chimp that she treated as a human? then he went crazy and ripped off part of her friend's face. i think cases like this are what propel the negative thinking of keeping exotic animals into the media forefront. the problem is people need to be responsible and also they need to be using common sense. this is unfortunately something that cannot be taught. people need to be responsible to not release non-natives into the wild. they also need common sense to know that this is not meant to happen. anytime humans have interfered with ecosystems in a way that is not natural to them, the results have in some level been a disaster. i do agree though that education and perhaps maybe even registering certain species could help. snakeheads need not be banned, but maybe some kind of certification or license should be offered. just an example. i think that would weed out a lot of people that should not be allowed to keep more than a pet rock


I think snakeheads that cannot survive a temperate climate should not be banned in those areas. I think responsible legislation should go hand in hand with responsible animal ownership.

[velanarris]

Now if we could get enough people together to stop the monstrosity that is Waxman-Markey.

[Allan01230]

Lets be better prepared the next time some jack ass brings in some crazy bill and beat it down quickly. There is strength in numbers! Good job to all who helped in any way shape or form. To those who didn't WAKE UP!

[dogofwar]

Introduced and non-native species, including ones that were pets, are undeniably a big problem.

Rest assured that there will be additional legislation to address the problem.

Hopefully it will be better crafted than HR 669.

But taking the approach that "any regulation in this area is bad" both assumes that what's currently on the books is perfect and ignores the reality of the threat to native species and habitats.

[benito1188]

i gotta question. so this bill is to band any import of all exotic/non-native animals right?---is that with out any consideration?? what are we trying to do here? are we totally trying to overflip this bill? isnt that abit selfish?? i mean ther clearly other animlas involve and not just fish....someone enlighten me

[velanarris]

When you introduce broad swweping legislation like hr669 without a specific focus, unintended consequences violate the rights of citizens.

For example, the majority of invasive species that plague the US have been brought in by ocean liner bilge tanks, government initiative, and uninformed manufacturers.

Good examples of such are

Zebra mussel (brought to the US in the bilge tanks of oceanic transports)
Kudzu (brought to the US during the 20's to prevent soil erosion by the US government)
Day lillies, aka: Creeping Charley (brought to the US by beer brewers as it was used prior to hops as a clarifier)
Asiatic Carp (government inititive to clear out algae infestations in lakes and rivers)
Wild Hogs (brought to the US by everyone as an agricultural staple)

There are some animals that have been brought to the US by the exotic pet industry and have caused some harm, such as the pythos and oscars found in southern florida now a days, but there were zero restrictions at that time. As such, the states started mandating that certain species, proven to be invasive to the point of eco system destruction, are no longer aloud within the state and shall be destroyed.

HR669 would have crippled the US pet industry as it was written. Technically, there were many breeds of dog and cat that fell under it's purview, and rather than havin a scientist or scientific body make the determination on what was allowed and what wasn't, it was in the hand of bureaucrats.

And we know how well they make decisions for the american people.

[ewurm]

Introduced and non-native species, including ones that were pets, are undeniably a big problem.

Rest assured that there will be additional legislation to address the problem.

Hopefully it will be better crafted than HR 669.

But taking the approach that "any regulation in this area is bad" both assumes that what's currently on the books is perfect and ignores the reality of the threat to native species and habitats.


In which states? Not mine!

Any broad and sweeping regulation that infringes on the rights of responsible people is "bad"

[Proteus]

I'm still not sure about this bill itself- i'm glad its almost dead

however

I'm for any measures to prevent hybridization from occuring as those can have deadly consquences to the environment itself or banning certain people from owning any animals for life

[velanarris]

In which states? Not mine!




Yep, yours too. The entire US has an invasive species of one type or another that has affected citizens economically.

[ewurm]

Yep, yours too. The entire US has an invasive species of one type or another that has affected citizens economically.


Invasive species, yes. Introduced by hobbyists, no.

[swede]

i think a permit system should be attempted instead of blanket banning our whole hobby. basically, this is already in place. i think zoos/aquariums can keep whatever they want as long as they hold a certain permit/paperwork. if hobbyists could somehow prove they are responsible with a permit system, then in theory nothing would need to be banned completely