Ty
The only problem with this is that in a free society such a law would be
unenforceable. I remember reading in a book about keeping snakes (which was
written in the UK) about laws forbidding keepers from feeding live rodents
to
snakes. Actually it is better to feed pre-killed prey - more humane and
better
for the snake becuase less risk of being injured by a mouse or rat bite-
yet as
the book stated - no self respecting keeper is going to let his snake
starve if
it insists on only live prey - law or no law.
The reason we have so many idiotic laws and regulations that flat out defy
common
sense is because every time an new issue comes up the bills start flying in
the
legislatures and elected officials often are pressured to placate various
groups
opposed to keeping things and never hear from responsible hobbyists. So
what you
get are half assed attempts to cover all possibilities and an ever
expanding
multitude of regulations - so prolific that even the people charged with
enforcing them often times don't even understand them or even know them at
all!
The end result of all that is lots of obscure rules that no one knows about
unless they embark on a vigorous research effort, widespread cynicism
caused by
rules that defy common sense and ultimately eroding respect for the idea of
Law
itself.
The issue of people owning exotic fish and other pets is alot like gun (or
even
car ownership). You have a constant struggle between those who uphold such
rights
and those who would contest them for the sake of the greater good. The
Ralph
Naders of the world are out to create a perfect and risk free society at
any cost
- the ultimate cost is individual freedom and possibly the loss of
beneficial
inovations that might make life better or even save lives not to mention
possible
solutions to social and environmental problems that might never be realized
in a
top-down authoritarian system.
Clean air and water and biological diversity are quality of life issues.
But so
is individual freedom. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Plus the
right
to prosper by one's own efforts. If people do not own their own
accomplishments
they are little more than serfs or property of the State.
I hope we will never come to this.
Down through history a lot of people died to overturn feudal systems and
defending against those who thought they had the master plan for how the
world
ought to be run. I think it is possible to have responsible ownership of
fish and
other pets without turning the US into another Singapore.
Otherwise known as the country that outlawed chewing gum becuase a few
individuals were sticking in places where they shouldn't.
Jeff
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