Hi all
I anticipate being crucified for this post, but so be it. I have something on my mind and it needs to be said.
We all know in recent months (years?) reptile keepers have come under fire by numerous groups including the various provincial nature conservation bodies as well as the well-known SPCA.
Also, there is the looming ban on the majority of popular reptile species which we are facing:
http://www.sareptiles.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=15373&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=death+of+the+hobby
The last thing we need now is any form of negative publicity and having a young child being bitten by a snake is going to do just that. It might just be the final nail in the coffin for the hobby as we know it.
So what I am proposing, and what I would like us to debate, is to actually try and get a legal age for keeping "highly venomous snakes." (Someone would have to make a list of genera or species which would fall into this category)
Some of the US states have similar laws and I think it's a great idea.
We can propose an age (I personally feel 16 is an adequate age) and make it illegal to sell venomous snakes to anyone younger than that age. Of course it would be hard to enforce such a law, but asking a potential buyer for a copy of their ID can easily solve that. And if a parent thinks that his 13 year old is ready for a venomous snake, he/she can simply buy it on his behalf.
I feel that even just having such a law in place will already portray us in a positive light even if the law is not 100% enforced. At least we can say we do acknowledge the fact that this hobby can be dangerous and we are doing something about it.
What do you guys think of this idea?