Today, I wanted to touch on the bigger picture of our hobby and industry. For the last few years it seems that new anti pet legislation arises every week and it is getting worse and worse! All animal keepers in every state are under attack. The bills are more creative and more sweeping. We have to ALL come together and push back.
The reality is that if we do not rally together as a unified group it is only going to get worse. We have to enjoy the conflict! Speak up, make your voices heard, support your fellow keepers in other states, and the species they keep even if they are different than yours. The species is irrelevant at this point. It is an all out push to stop us from keeping the animals we all love. Enjoy showing these people how much you care and how much you know. Be excited that you can reach out and help another keeper you have never met before who works with a different species.
I know this is a big ask for a lot of us. We just want to be left a lone and enjoy our animals but if we don’t step out of our comfort zones there will be nothing left to keep. So get involved! Speak your mind, write letters, tuck your shirt in and go speak at your State Capitol when asked, educate those around you that are unaware of what is happening, send emails, sign petitions, be a positive force and voice for the animals you work with. We have your back! And there is no better organization that has the backs of all of us than USARK (usark.org)
USARK is on the front lines and they are our greatest ally. Please become a member. It is only $5 a month (a coffee from your favorite coffee place). Without them, I do not even want to think about where our industry would be. I have personally worked with them here in South Carolina and the work they do is amazing, BUT they cannot do it alone. They need your help. There is power in numbers. Your voice is just as important as the next person.
Whether you keep one Leopard Gecko or a building full of venomous snakes, we are all experts in these animals. We know how they tick, the ins and outs of their behavior. You are the expert, not the people writing these bills or enacting these unjust and biased laws. Be confident in your knowledge and your message to these people. Show them who we are, do not let them put labels on us or assume we are something that we are not.
Today, right now, is the time to rally together. No more infighting or bashing the new keepers. Take that energy and use it where it is needed! We do have an enemy out there and it is not your fellow animal keeper, it is the anti pet groups and legislators trying to take away your ability to keep the animals you enjoy. We need our industry to grow and that means bringing in new people, not making them feel unwelcome. We ALL started somewhere and none of us were born knowing what we know today. Be the positive change you want to see in this hobby. The real threat is much bigger than cage vs rack or whatever other petty argument is making the rounds on social media that day!
So everyday check usark.org for new alerts and get involved. Make it part of your routine. Like any muscle memory it will become habit very fast. We have a responsibility to each other as keepers to stay informed and stay engaged. Show them that we will not be steamed rolled or scape goated. That we are a wealth of knowledge, and we are responsible herpetoculturists, that we are a force to be reckoned with. These anti pet groups are very organized and powerful but you know what, so are we!
Lets get the message out, lets all support each other, and lets be a strong unified voice for the animals we all love!