More dogs kill children than any snake species so lets ban them also.

Lightning kills more people every year.

…and hot tap water kills even more than lightning.

Talk about a far reaching bill that fixes nothing. ALL PYTHONS? More of congress treading where they have no knowledge or expertise.

dont let this pass,because It is overly simplistic and politically driven. It is poorly thought out and sacrifices good science for political expediency. The negative economic impact for my family and business would be significant. Please oppose HR2811. Thank you for your consideration.just think of all the people even my self out of jobs, not just in the us its self but all over the world…. and if i have no job then i have no money for food for my children,,,, what would you do if you had no food for your children it hurts to even think about it..

thank you and god bless ,,,, i prey you do the right thing.

J.W. Stoddard

Worst amendment ever….

I run a reptile business local to Destin, FL. I believe that public education about these magnificent species would help far more than taking an already misunderstood God created species out of the hands of the general public. I believe this amendment is attempting to do just that.

When handled with just a ounce of respect and understanding these creatures are no more harmful than a house cat.

I urge you to not add to the problem by supporting this amendment. It will only continue to promote a stereotypical view of snakes as being evil killers. When they are anything but.

Instead consider public education, it will be beneficial to not only the general public, but the Pythons too. Consider how many people are killed each year by dogs compared to constrictors. We don’t ban the ownership of dogs. We create organizations to educate people, to provide a safer environment for not only the animal, but it’s care taker. the same can be applied to constrictors.

I wanted to add to what i wrote earlier. They’ve passed ROC or reptiles of concern, the point of this is to regulate the really large species of python that are being released in Florida’s everglades. You now cannot own any of the listed reptiles of concern without a license, which costs $100 a year, and any roc over 2 inches in diameter must be microchipped.

All this other amendment would do is limit ones ability to own pythons, as the would be classified as “injurious animals”. They are already regulating the large pythons, this would make even a little green tree python a “injurious animal”, thats just crazy. It will start there and before you know it, it will be Boas next, and then it will be illegal to even own a snake with out paying high fees.

I agree I personally dont work with pythons but my friends do and I am aware that boas are next. This bill is driven by fear tactics of the ignorant. But hey at least the drug dealers will still be allowed to have there pitbulls!!!

HR2811 and the USGS’s failed attempt at science in, ‘Giant Constrictors: Biological and Management Profiles and an Establishment Risk Assessment for Nine Large Species of Pythons, Anacondas, and the Boa Constrictor’, is so absolutely wrought with flaws at a fundamental level that it saddens me. It saddens me because this legislation is being pushed by still common fears and phobias of people that know nothing or at best very little of these magnificent creatures. The proponents of this legislation frequently point to examples of woefully ignorant and occasionally criminally negligent husbandry practices of a very small minority within our chosen hobby. This is no different than pointing to kitchen knives and saying that they must be band because a person was murdered with one or they cut themselves. You may say that this is absurd, but ask yourself; would you be comfortable handling an animal that you have never met or know nothing of? How will this relate to your vote on my hobby?

Tell my kids their python is not a pet!!! I strongly oppose this bill and I reject the efforts of the HSUS to impose, to force, their wacky agenda into my household. I, as well as millions of other reptile owners across America, keep our pets with out threat to the public or the environment. What is a local problem to south Florida should not be the reason we allow the HSUS to advance their anti-pet agenda on a national level.

More people drown in toilets every year than people in the United States are killed by their constricting snakes.

Here is a link for kids drowning in toilets, bathtubs, spa etc.: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml02/02169.html

Here is a link for kids and adults killed by their constricting snakes: http://www.rexano.org/Statistics/Constrictor_Captive_Snake_Fatality.pdf

toilets, tubs, spas, buckets, pools etc: 421 in a time frame between 1996 and 1999!!!!!!!

death by constricting snake: 8. yes. 8. Even more impressive is the time frame. 1990 to 2008!!!!

Obviously this bill in not based on any scientific fact nor do the politicians that support it care about facts and statistics. Before you pass a bill that impacts the income of hard working families; do some research… dogs, guns, tobacco, alcohol, car accidents, lightning, food, CURTAIN BLINDS CONSTRICT MORE KIDS EVERY MONTH THAN SNAKES DO IN A DECADE.

The Florida everglades is the only part of our country that is supporting a feral imported snake population and that has not been proven to be injurous. A ban on pythons is not reasonable and would negatively affect our economy as it would destroy many businesses and take away the livelihood if many US citizens. I do not support this bill.

Seems to me to be a Florida problem, not a federal problem. Looks like some organization is making a federal case out of a tiny local issue that has already been worked out at the state level. Let’s save federal cases for things that really mean something.

On top of the above basic logic, this legislation would be wresting freedom from the American people. Freedom is (was?) the hallmark of the United States of America that has made it the envy of the world.

In addition to both of the above, this legislation will completely destroy a thriving sector of the econdomy, and it will do it at a time during which we need to encourage, not discourage any kind of business. We simply cannot afford foolish emotion-driven illogical legislation.

To compound the above problems, more bureaucratic layering will be needed to enforce the legislation, costing taxpayers to implement something unnecessary that removes freedom, and destroys part of the economy.

I have kept snakes for 20 years, I have never let one lose in the wild and never would. This ban is horrible and unfair. A smarter solution would be to require better registration, include micro chipping. There are more stray cats and dogs in this country, that really do need the attention that you all put into keeping reptiles out of responsible peoples homes. Put an end to this bill.

my python is harmless, he has gone to libraries with me to help educated small children about snakes, they have been able to touch and hold him. he has never tried to bite anyone. i have taken him into restaurants, video stores, and around town. with the right care and compassion snakes are no more harmless than a puppy. some people are uneducated about snakes when they choose to buy them and they don’t know how big they will get, or they can’t afford to feed them, and they release them into the wild. that is why we have the problem in the everglades. please don’t let these ignorant people ruin it for the people who truly care about their snakes. PLEASE DON’T SUPPORT THIS BILL.

There is no evidence that the snakes in the Everglades came from pet owners releasing them. There is, however, evidence that they were most likely released by a hurricane hitting a building that they were stored in. Most, if not all of the snakes that have been found are related, which means that they did not come from pet owners.

I would like to see these politicians explain to the men fighting over seas that have these animals that they will not be allowed to move out of there state and take there pets, nor will they be able to acquire new animals from another state. Then after all that thank them for defending our freedoms or lack there of!

I can’t believe this! I really can’t believe this. How many bills are you lousy senators trying to pass here. Seriously do your research pythons aren’t that dangerous!!! There are literally thousands of things that are 10x as more dangerous than a python. I mean look at guns for instance or cars. Those kill thousands of people a year and I don’t see any bill trying to ban those. But you know these bills are worthless even if you did pass it, you still wouldn’t solve anything. People will still keep these as pets and breed them, the only thing this would do is kill our economy even more. So great job way to show that your nothing more than a weak minded puppet who gets controlled by PETA and HSUS. That right there shows how weak you really are.

Yes this is just what we need another failure of a senator who cleary knows nothing about snakes or reptiles in general.

I hope that this does not pass. Most pythons do not get anywhere near as big as the pythons that would be a problem, although they wouldn’t be a problem, because they would not be able to survive the winter in most of the country even if they were loose, and it takes them years to get big enough to become dangerous (and the bigger they are, it seems as though it would be less likely that they would be set free). Regardless, in the area where they are a concern (Florida) I do not see why they are any more dangerous than the alligators that they seem to go through a lot of trouble to protect. Just because some people were irresponsible pet owners in Florida, does not mean that everyone else in the country should suffer. I might be slightly more understanding if it were just Burmese pythons or something else that does get very large, but to ban all pythons is a really dumb idea, in my opinion.