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San Jose Reptile Show - Great Deals - Santa Clara Fairgrounds - THIS WEEKEND! |
Posted by endo on June 24, 2003 at 14:57:11:
In Reply to: VOTE NO TO BANNING REPTILES posted by Iguanalady on June 23, 2003 at 22:15:17:
I hate to bring this up, but the exotic disease of the week is bound to affect the results of this poll. The sudden appearance of monkeypox on the scene has the media on another witch hunt. The attention and and attack are focused squarely on the importation of exotic animals. They make no distinction between mammals, birds, reptiles etc., instead regard them all as exotic and therefore potential carriers.
While recent polls and localized attempts to introduce legislation banning and/or restricting ownership have met with mixed results, I sense a definite shift in public opinion on the horizon. The ignorant and uninformed masses are plugging in to CNN et al for their daily dose of truth and are being bombarded by anti exotic propoganda.
There has yet to be a smoking gun identified (except, of course, for some poor Gambian rat) in any of these cases, but the stream of misinformation continues unabated. Scientific evidence is still inconclusive, the alleged links in the species chain are still speculative. One message is still being broadcast to those unable to formulate their own opinions:
EXOTIC ANIMALS TRANSMIT DISEASES THAT CAN KILL YOU
Admittedly, this is a powerful statement when taken out of context. Remove any objective analysis and scientific evaluation, and it becomes little more than tabloid hype. Unfortunately, the audience is sucking it up like an aardvark on an anthill. The war on exotics, as its been up until now, will seem like a minor skirmish when compared to what it will likely become in the near future.
SARS, Monkeypox, West Nile, BSE (mad cow), and lets not forget our old nemesis Salmonella, are all being used against us as keepers of things exotic.
I suppose all I'm tryin to say is that we are going to have to pull up our socks, hike our collective belts in another notch, dig in our heels, and prepare to fight the Mother of All Battles(thanks Saddam) to maintain the integrity and future of the hobby we've chosen. Brace yourselves!
Just my 2bits...Ok maybe that was more like $11.95
:Got to the article in todays province on the issue and look in the left hand side of the page for a poll and vote no to banning reptiles!
:http://www.canada.com/vancouver/the...22-05E8012CC3E3