How The Lacey Act Could Effect The Pet Trade

The Lacey Act was first introduced in the United States in 1990 and is a law that prohibits the trade of various wildlife, fish and plants that have been illegally transported, sold or possessed. It has allowed local govering authorities to implement civil and criminal penalties for those who have broken the laws.

Some of the snakes that have been added to the act include:

• Burmese Pythons
• 2 species of Rock Pythons
• Yellow Anacondas

Burmese Pythons

Furthermore, the Lacey Act carries penalties for the falsification of any documentation and also prevents the animals listed above from crossing state lines.

How does this effect those living in the USA?

• If you move for work or family, you can't take your animals to a different state.
• If you do educational shows.
• If you are in the army.
• Lots of jobs shall be lost for breeders and pet stores.

 How does this effect the hobby?

In the United Kingdom and Europe, many of the imported animals in the pet industry have previously been obtained from the United States. If more animals are added to the list then they can't be transported.

PETA may also have a say in the future of reptile keeping and may even go as far to introduce new laws in both the UK and Europe.

What can we do?

The hobby needs to promote education first and foremost in order to change negative perceptions against the hobby. Breeders and hobbyists would also need to come together and put differences aside to make the industry more friendly instead of jumping down one anothers' throats and arguing over the most stupid issues. We need to show that the reptile industry is taken seriously and that the facts are clearly displayed and a few negligent keepers can't spoil it for everyone.

• According to CDC data, dogs killed 167 Americans over the age of 14 between 2001 and 2010.
• From 2003 to 2007 (according to www.geog.ucsb.edu), 22 people on average are killed by cows in the USA alone.
• Between 1990 and 2012, the amount of constrictor attacks that resulted in fatalities was 10. (rexano.org) This means the lifetime odds of being killed by a pet constrictor is 1 in 9,513,742!