Angela_96

I just got an email from my fav aquarium store, it was labeled HR 669 no longer a threat to this great hobby!!!
It also had a thank you to everyone who phoned, maiiled, etc the Congress people.
I don't know if the whole bill was shot down or just the marine life part.. but we have nothing to worry about!

navyscuba

Yayayayayayayay.: ;bananarow

FL CommunityFans

It'll be back next year, and the next year.. and be shot down each year ;p

Maybe if they thought the whole thing through and weren't so general about it, it could get some more support. Something definitely needs to be done because the Lacey Act is a joke

Martinismommy

Thank Goodness! I had already planned on where I was going to hide all my Bettas lol

Lucy

Wellll......technically, your betta babies were born in the US, thereby making the US citizens.

agabr123

i've kind of kept my eye on the bill and the threads around here on the bill and all that, and haven't really voiced my opinion on it. i will say this though, i think congress has FAR more important things to worry about right now than the fish that i'm keeping in my tanks as long as they stay in my tanks

CHoffman

I'm with ya. I get the concern but it's scary to think that I wouldn't be able to keep all my fish babies because of some silly bill.

sirdarksol

I don't think this bill is going to be back. I don't think it was ever meant to pass. I think it was meant to get Congress thinking about the issue of invasive species from the pet trade (and elsewhere, for that matter).

The Lacey Act wouldn't be a joke if all states had decent laws on the matter (since it basically makes state-level infractions into federal offenses), but they don't. Because of this, you're totally right, it has become a joke.

Because invasive species negatively impact numerous industries, I believe that this problem is definitely something that Congress should be taking a look at. I hope they find a workable solution.

Angela_96

I was getting ready to get some massive machine guns to defend my cichlids lol....
My mother was the funniest of all, she said they could take her lionhead bunny and angel fish out of her cold dead hands...

Crazyness! What bites is that if it did pass, you cannot legally hae wild life as pets (native) in TN so even stuffinc crappie in my tanks would be out of the question.

Martinismommy

I just didn't see any way they could possibly enforce it...Can you imagine the manpower it would have taken to go door to door trying to take peoples pets from them! I would have been put completely out of business as far as my Betta breeding...My biggest concern about it passing (which I knew it wouldn't) was what's next? My Chihuahuas? My 18 year old cat?

We live in America for goodness sakes!

Angela_96

The sad thing is if some out there animal activist get laws passed the way they want our cats and dogs would be next....
The sad thing is our cats dogs and fish are like our children.

You know they said it would take a month to slaughter all the pigs in Egypt over the swine flu deal... and the US is a lot bigger than Egypt... and our "invasive" pets are a lot easier to hide if they had to go door to door.. that would mean a lot of search warrents, and legal papers they would have to obtain. It just wouldn't work lol

Yea, having my cichlids and breeding them I know where you are coming from. Then there are people like Dino, whew! that would bite! Having a huge fish house with no fish.

sirdarksol

Giving up current pets wasn't the point of HR669 and is not going to be the point of any future bill in the matter. It was meant to limit the trade, transport, and sale of such creatures (essentially grandfathering the law in).

Potential future bills may require the purchase of a permit to buy potentially invasive species (which, as with HR669, will not include most aquarium fish. They just don't fit the invasive profile). The proceeds from these permits would then cover efforts to control invasive species already in the wild, as well as educate the public to avoid further introductions.

As a side note, I went for a walk with my mom around a swampy lake in our city, and noticed that the snails (I believe the ones called "Japanese trapdoor snails" at Liveaquaria) have grown huge and extremely numerous. There's also a goldfish population in the lake. I'm sure the herons and egrets love the goldies, but the native fish are gone, and the snails are making short work of all but one or two of the shore grasses.
I really wish people just wouldn't dump/release their unwanted pets. We wouldn't have to have these discussions, then, and we'd be able to focus on how wonderful our fishies are.

Second Edit: And don't get me started on the countries destroying pigs to curtail H1N1... It's a waste and will not stem the spread of infection in the least. The virus is the human virus, and merely has a bit of swine flu and avian flu material in it. It's being spread by humans, not by animals.

FL CommunityFans

That's it exactly. 100% agree.