Canis lupus hominis

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged exotic pets, HR 669, non-native pets | 3 Comments

3 Responses

1. on April 12, 2009 at 8:44 pm ms ann thrope

   No one imported Japanese beetles as pets, yet they have invaded the entire eastern seaboard. I fail to see how HR669 is going to keep our native fauna and flora safe from invaders whether we knowingly import them, smuggle them in or let them hitch rides in a load of melamine tainted grain from China.
   Lets see, one could stretch the non native species definition to the last Beringia land bridge, making everything that’s come here in the past say 15,000 years non native, including us.

   
   
   • on April 12, 2009 at 8:51 pm retrieverman

     I don’t like invasive species. I don’t like that there are Burmese pythons killing lots of things in the Everglades. I don’t like that I have to cut my way through the multiflora roses, “hedgerow plants,” and autumn olives when I exercise my dogs.

     However, this law is incredibly stupid.

     And I think that responsible snake owners should be allowed to have Burmese and reticulated pythons.

     
     
2. on April 12, 2009 at 10:02 pm ms ann thrope

   AS a child, I wanted a retic so badly I could smell it! I prayed to the Deity fervently for one to be under my bed every night. Never happened. Tried again after reading William Joseph Long’s “Northern Trails” about Wayeesis the White Wolf, and I prayed for one of those too. No success. Probably why I am an atheist.
   Japanese beetles do a number on multifloras. However they only attack the leaves and blossoms, leaving the root stock. Alas, the beetles don’t stay on the multiflora and choose my other roses and perennials. Peaches, apples and rose hybrids from R. canina, R. gallica, etc are also non native. So are a good many of the other fruits, flowers and vegetables we grow. Tomatoes and potatoes originated in Mexico and the Andes respectively. Hamsters are Eastern Europe, guinea pigs are Andean. White and party colored mice, including the invaluable lab mice are descended from (Mus musculus) the common House Mouse, a non native species. Lab and pet rats from Rattus rattus, the European/Asian black rat. Shouldn’t HR669 be banning these valuable alien species too? After all, they are non native! And adapt well to being released in the wild.
   Don’t get me wrong either, as I certainly wouldn’t want a retic oozing over my dog fence to dine on my dogs, or devastate the Everglades of it’s fauna who have not evolved defenses against such a powerful predator.
   The point is that this is a poorly crafted bill that doesn’t address the problem in the right way, and as always punishes the conscientious and law abiding.

   
   

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