HR 2603

[tglazie]

Hi guys,

Here's a link to the USARK blog post on HR2603, a bill that will apparently abolish the CBW system.

http://usark.org/2017-blog/action-alert-h-r-2603/

Thoughts? What will this mean for the captive reproduction of rads?

T.G.

 

[zovick]

Just so everyone understands, the bill eliminates the need for a CBW Permit to buy and sell ALL non-native Endangered Species of animals, not just Radiated Tortoises. This means that all tortoises and turtles (and other animals) not native to the US will be able to be freely sold from one state to another within the US without the need for a CBW Permit. This will allow many more people to own and breed these animals.

 

[deadheadvet]

If this bill would pass, it would expand the diversity of the Radiated Tortoise in the United States.Hobbyists, and Collectors could move animals across state lines w/o needing a permit. Groups of tortoises would be easily unrelated because there is a wide enough gene pool in the US to promote diversity that currently is limited by the CBW permit.

 

[tglazie]

Yes indeed. This would mean that Galaps could be sold across state lines without a permit as well. With more widespread access to these animals, I can only imagine their popularity (and with it, their population) would grow.

T.G.

 

[Markw84]

PLUS since it is only addressing species NOT native to the US, it means that these endangered species would STILL be just as protected from exploitation as they currently are as all the CITIES regulations govern that - and this only addresses the unneeded FEDERAL law in the US that is a totally unnecessary extra layer of bureaucracy. US species are not included in this proposal and will remain with the same protection as they have now.

 

[deadheadvet]

All correct points. a waste of financial resources, plus USFWS has not spent barely any money on conservation of these listed animals outside the US.

 

[Markw84]

So how many here have actually written their representative in congress to encourage passage of this law? It's easy to not get around to it, but it's extremely easy to do as outlined in @deadheadvet 's post on this.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/h-r-2603-please-read-this-post-if-you-live-in-the-usa.157689/

A long time ago I was a bit involved with lobbying and getting things passed. The special interest groups, and in this case, PETA and such, have lobbyists that are constantly pushing their agenda to the respective legislatures. The other side often never gets heard. Unless you are a lobbyist, you do not have the time to keep abreast of what is going on, let alone, then let your voice be heard. Something needs to counterbalance the special interest groups. IN this case, perhaps well intentioned, but without the perspective of what it's doing to captive programs, gene pool diversity, etc.

Please do your small part and let your voice be counted. Let your representative know there is another side to this! Go to the thread above. It is very easy to do...

 

[8james8]

I've sent a letter to mine outlining these exact points. You could almost copy and paste half of the comments in this thread to form a quick and intelligent letter.

It's worth it. This would be a game changer.

 

[Markw84]

If you look at the original post by deadheadvet I linked above, I gave the simple steps to locate your congressperson and email them. I also put a full copy of the letter I emailed to my congressman. You can simply copy and paste that, but I would recommend changing the wording where I reference Chelonians to simply "endangered species". The whole process takes 5 - 10 minutes.

Here's that link again...

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/h-r-2603-please-read-this-post-if-you-live-in-the-usa.157689/

 

[zovick]

Does anyone know when this bill is likely to come up for a vote?

 

[tglazie]

Unfortunately, the bill is still in committee as of May 23rd, and no further movement on the measure has been reported. We all know how slowly congress moves on these things. As we speak, members of the press who have reported on this seem to be lining up against this bill, using various misinformation scare tactics regarding how it will result in extinctions en mass. Regarding movement, bottom line, it is too early for there to be any as of yet. But here's to hoping we can see some progress on this by the year's end. In the mean time, this bill is going to be dragged through the mud by the animal rightsist crazies who would stop at nothing to deprive us all of our rights. We need to let our congressmen know that those of us who voted them into office support this measure as a common sense solution to a problem that has long festered as a ridiculous, counterproductive barrier to the captive propagation and proliferation of these wonderful animals. So yeah, email your congressman.

T.G.

 

[Markw84]

Yes, been in committed for 2 months now. It is in the House Committee on Natural Resources. The principal "rating" organization on bills currently gives this bill a 39% chance of passing committee. The main obstacle is the fear of looking like you are against protecting endangered species if you vote for it. The plus is that this will REDUCE costs to the government and an extra layer of bureaucracy. Plus 25 of the 43 committee members are republican.

There is pressure by animal rights' groups and misinformation pressure about opening up commerce and destroying the remaining populations of endangered species.

The truth is the people voting on these thing know little to nothing about them other than the voices they hear. We need to give weight to the other side of the argument. Especially if your congressperson is on that committee, please email them and speak up!!!

This is known as the "Saves Act" HR 2603

Here is a list of committee members I sorted by state.

Alaska, At-large - Don Young R
American Samoa, At-large - Amata Coleman Radewagen R
Arizona, 3rd District - Raúl Grijalva D
Arizona, 4th District - Paul Gosar R
Arizona, 7th District - Ruben Gallego D
Arkansas, 4th District - Bruce Westerman R
California, 10th District - Jeff Denham R
California, 16th District - Jim Costa D
California, 1st District - Doug LaMalfa R
California, 20th District - Jimmy Panetta D
California, 2nd District - Jared Huffman D
California, 32nd District - Grace Napolitano D
California, 35th District - Norma Torres D
California, 44th District - Nanette Barragán D
California, 47th District - Alan Lowenthal D
California, 4th District - Tom McClintock R
California, 8th District - Paul Cook R
Colorado, 3rd District - Scott Tipton R
Colorado, 5th District - Doug Lamborn R
Florida, 11th District - Daniel Webster R
Florida, 9th District - Darren Soto D
Georgia, 10th District - Jody Hice R
Guam, At-large - Madeleine Bordallo D
Hawaii, 1st District - Colleen Hanabusa D
Idaho, 1st District - Raúl Labrador R
Illinois, 18th District - Darin LaHood R
Louisiana, 4th District - Mike Johnson R
Louisiana, 6th District - Garret Graves R
Maryland, 4th District - Anthony Brown D
Massachusetts, 5th District - Niki Tsongas D
Michigan, 1st District - Jack Bergman R
Missouri, 1st District - Wm. Lacy Clay D
New Mexico, 2nd District - Steve Pearce R
North Carolina, 7th District - David Rouzer R
Northern Mariana Islands, At-large - Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan D
Pennsylvania, 5th District - Glenn 'GT' Thompson R
Puerto Rico, At-large - Jenniffer González-Colón R
Texas, 1st District - Louie Gohmert R
Utah, 1st District - Rob Bishop R
Virginia, 1st District - Rob Wittman R
Virginia, 4th District - A. Donald McEachin D
Virginia, 8th District - Don Beyer D
Wyoming, At-large - Liz Cheney R

 

[Sterant]

I sent an email to my representative. Are you guys sending them to both the Republican AND Democratic rep?

 

[Sterant]

I sent a message to both

 

[deadheadvet]

I would hope that everyone who keeps any ESA listed species, ( does not necessarily need to be a turtle or tortoise) knows what a hassle it is to obtain any due to the federal permit process. There are many on this site with desires for some of these ESA listed species, but do not want to go through the permit process. it is arduous and months of waiting. These are the people who need to contact their representative and ask that they support this bill.

 

[zovick]

Everyone,

There was a hearing on this and some other related bills this past Wednesday, July 19 2017. After that, this article was published:

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=83880598-0253-4d8e-acb9-bd7be8d5a0e4

Please check it out and do whatever you can to stimulate your congressional reps to act positively on this matter. It appears there may still be trouble ahead, even though the head of USFWS is backing the idea.

 

[enchilada]

can anyone give us an email template ?
what should be the subject of email? "HR 2603" ? "save act"?

thanks

 

[Toons1978]

Here is a good link to see information on 2603's status https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2603/committees . Ideally this will get passed and amend the ESA about 1-5 days after my CBW gets approved. That way my app fee and time waiting won't have been a complete waste .

 

[Pignoseddude]

So there was an update on HR 2603 on 10/4.

A markup session was held and the bill was ordered to be reported (amended) 23 yes v. 16 no.

Anybody have any idea what it means? Is it going to get a calendar date and go to the House?

 

[Markw84]

So there was an update on HR 2603 on 10/4.

A markup session was held and the bill was ordered to be reported (amended) 23 yes v. 16 no.

Anybody have any idea what it means? Is it going to get a calendar date and go to the House?

A markup session is when the bill is read to the committed with each section being read and committee members given an opportunity to amend or "mark up" a part they may want to add comments. There may or may not be any comments or changes suggested. If successful (which this was in this case) the bill is then voted to be reported to the House. There it would scheduled to be read and voted upon.

Sounds like it is on its way so far!