Snake Awareness Day

The reptile world was shaken last week with a massive blow to the industry. Congress added four species of snakes to the Lacey Act - Northern and Southern African Rock Pythons, Yellow Anacondas, and the infamous (and often misunderstood) Burmese Python.  This happened because the Humane Society of the United States and other special interest groups that don't want us to have snakes as pets.  This was a devastating blow to the industry and more snakes, boa constrictors, are in danger of being listed.

To that end, reptile lovers all over are putting their heads together for Snake Awareness Day, a day that will focus on demonstrations, lectures, and basically introducing people to the wonder of snakes.  We are doing this in an attempt to get the public to help us prevent the passing of unfair legislation concerning these wondrous creatures.

Since being introduced to snakes, I have discovered that they are wonderful pets.  They are easy to care for if the proper research is done beforehand, they make great conversation pieces, and they have a habit of helping me let the stress slip through my fingers just like their scales do as they slither across my hands or shoulders.  I am terrified that fear and misunderstanding will prevent me from breeding them or even owning them.  Would I pay for a permit to keep them or breed them?  Absolutely, as long as the rules and regulations associated with that permit were fair, I would not hesitate.

Snakes are some of the most misunderstood creatures on the planet.  Television and movies portray them as malevolent, blood-thirsty creatures that want nothing more than to dine on the flesh of the young and innocent.  This is not the case.  They are simply alien to many people, and people fear what they do not understand.  All I want, all the rest of the snake and reptile lovers out there want, is for our passion to be understood, for those who fear these beautiful creatures to leave them, and us, alone rather than try to force us to believe and behave as they do.  Please help us realize this goal by at least trying to understand why we love snakes, even if you don't like or even fear them.  Don't judge the entire snake population by the actions of a few mistreated, starving animals either.  It isn't fair to the snakes, and it isn't fair to those of us that have them as pets.