Welcome to The Reptile Nation! I will be discussing all the various issues that confront the reptile community today. Never before has our communit
Welcome to The Reptile Nation! I will be discussing all the various issues that confront the reptile community today. Never before has our community had its own voice. This blog will be an opportunity to let that voice be heard from coast to coast.
The Reptile Nation blog topics could range from state and local issues, to federal legislative proposals; from the extreme environmental and animal rights movement to the expansion of power and funding for various government agencies; ambitious politicians and grant hungry scientists; position statements and calls for grass roots action. Any topic that could affect The Reptile Nation will get tackled here.
The Reptile Nation blog won’t always be serious either. As I travel around the nation I’ll bring photos of interesting people and animals that I meet along the way. It is important to remember that this is really what The Reptile Nation is all about. There is some really fantastic work going on out there and the more we can get this fact presented in a positive light to as many people as possible the better things will be for all of us. More people need to understand how interesting the reptile community really is. One of our biggest problems as a community has been public relations.
For years we have not done a very good job of singing our own praises or protecting our ability to keep reptiles. The animal rights movement has spent a lot of time and money trying to portray what we do as some kind of weird counterculture pursuit. In state after state they have had legislation passed virtually unopposed that limits the ability to work with reptiles. We need to do a better job of showcasing the truth. The general public needs education that shows that what we do is really cool and has broad appeal. I believe that the reptile community will go mainstream and viral within the next 5 to 10 years if we can survive the next 2 to 3 years. In the United Kingdom, reptiles are now more widespread than traditional pets. When that happens in the United States most of our problems will disappear. The majority of our problems are manufactured or exaggerated by those opposed to us, because they are desperately trying to destroy us before we truly become a mainstream part of American culture. Let’s all work together to promote The Reptile Nation. We all need to be goodwill ambassadors to the world.
Join Us! There is Strength in Numbers … Protect Your Rights!
Andrew Wyatt is the President of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK) and has been an avid herp enthusiast for more than 35 years. He has traveled the world and has had his animals featured in a number of television productions. For more information about USARK, click here.
