OT - Invasive Snakes

dave s wusong@evilemail.com
Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:26:03 PST
This subject (in the broad sense - not specifically pythons) is always a
sore one for me.  You mention Asian carp and kudzu - what they have in
common, and what most of our  "invasives" have in common is that their
introductions have very little to do with private individuals.  They're
mostly the result of local, state and federal efforts to introduce them
deliberately, whether for agriculture, sport fishing, or "wildlife
management"  (those quotes aren't snarky, they're there because it is a very
broad heading).  A few of the worst are an unfortunate side effect of
international trade, the exact thing that a government agency COULD have
done something about (I'm looking at you, *Boiga*, *Neogobius*, and *
Dreissena*).

The private pet owner/gardener is the easy target, but precious few
invasives species, globally, jumped from the store shelf to become a rampant
problem.  Despite widespread stupidity, most (many? :D ) pet owners are at
least *fairly* responsible, and don't go releasing unwanted snakes.  And
even if they do, a snake/lizard/bird here and there is statistically
unlikely to cause an epidemic.

In other words, this type of legislation is usually a textbook example of
bull____, as defined by H.G. Frankfurt:  A willful disregard for the truth
in an effort to deceive others as to how one feels about a given subject.
Politics as usual.  It's lazy, unsupported by the facts, and ultimately not
likely to help much.  And, given the way laws build on what has gone before,
likely to progressively encroach on our activities.

-Dave


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