It is becoming increasingly common around the world for reptile and other exotic animal keepers of all persuasions to find themselves all of a sudden in contravention of the law, as new municipal, state/provincial and federal regulations are drafted to control our hobby.  This is sometimes understandable with the regulation of dangerous exotics, but in some places like my township near Ottawa, Canada, all reptiles, amphibians and arachnids are banned outright!  I believe personally that a prospective owner should have to prove their competence in order to keep an animal that could harm someone, or an animal that could be invasive to the local environment if escaped or released.  They should have to keep and maintain a license for as long as they have such animals and I think that’s only fair.  However, there is nothing dangerous or invasive about keeping a leopard gecko in Canada!

This is where we as a community of reptile keepers come into the picture.  Reptile keepers as a whole have failed on a variety of fronts.  We have not succeeded policing ourselves as a community and holding our peers accountable for their mistakes.  We must realize that most people at best don’t understand, and at worst fear and despise our hobby.  Our actions and the actions of those around us reflect upon us all in circumstances where exotic animal keepers make bad press or present a negative public image of our hobby.  That may entail releasing a non-native turtle into the local pond, or taking a pet boa out to the mall for a shopping trip.  We’ve all read newspaper articles like that at some point or another.  We must act as good ambassadors for herpetoculture, be respectful of others and the environment, and insist that our peers do the same.  If there were never any bad press surrounding our hobby, there would be no reason to regulate it.

And speaking of the reptile community policing itself, perhaps our biggest failing as reptile keepers is the profound lack of the very community to participate in!  Other exotic animal keepers (such as those involved in falconry) have banded together to fight for the ownership of their animals, why not us?  In my experience, excluding some herpetological societies and dedicated hardcore keepers, there is not much of a sense of community among herpetoculturists – and what little there is certainly is not strong enough to be able or willing to mobilize enough resources and people power to stave off the constant battles with the animal rights groups and the politicians that want to make ‘popular’ decisions.  Recent years have seen USARK take on the fight for reptiles, but the tide of battle has been turning against them – and therefore us. Continued buy this issue or subscribe