UPDATE: USARK/ Senator Nelson S373 Meeting

[USARK Admin]

Many of you know that USARK attended a meeting at Senator Bill Nelson's office in West Palm Beach last Friday to discuss S373 "The Python Ban". The USARK delegation was led by Andrew Wyatt and consisted of Captain Ernie Jillson, Miami-Dade Fire & Rescue (MDFR) Venom Response Unit (Venom One), Captain Chuck Siefert, MDFR Venom One, Shawn Heflick and Greg Graziani. Wyatt said "The meeting went about as good as we could have hoped for. They heard our message and it was well received."

The USARK message was one of respect and cooperation for Senator Nelson's position on the protection of the Everglades. A willingness by Senator Nelson's office to work with USARK and Protect the Reptile Community was given in return. USARK will work with Senator Nelson's office during the August recess to craft language that will serve the Senators goals, as well as protect the trade in ALL pythons. We would like to thank Senator Nelson and his Chief of Staff for holding this meeting in good faith with USARK's Florida herpers.

It is not a secret that there are ideologically driven Animal Rights (AR) groups that would like to use S373 as a tool to enforce their long held goal of ending the ownership and trade in reptiles. But, again they have no credible science or facts to back their assertions; only emotionally charged rhetoric and sensationalism. They will try to turn this discussion into a circus. They are extremely well funded and have a loud voice. It will be our challenge to stick with facts and logic and not be bated by their blatant mischaracterizations.

We MUST raise enough money to stay in this fight and see it through. We have come too far to fail now because we can't raise enough money to play this high stakes game. We need the Reptile Nation to rise up and support us the way the AR folks support their organizations. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we have not made it yet. If USARK had stayed on the sidelines, the game would be over and "The Python Ban" would be waiting for a signature from President Obama. Help us get through this legislative session. What we have accomplished against huge odds is amazing, but we still need to see it through.

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Send questions to president@usark.org