• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

USARK Legal Action Against FWS Constrictor Rule

EricWI

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Approximately three months have passed since U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) took the unprecedented action of adding four constricting snakes to the Injurious Wildlife list of the Lacey Act. Never before have animals widely held by the American public been listed. Originally FWS suggested the addition of all of Boa, Python and Eunectes. The list was whittled down to nine constricting snakes after the highly controversial “Risk Assessment” was published by Gordon Rodda and Robert Reed of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The final rule was announced in January 2012. USARK was able to block five of the nine proposed snakes by taking dynamic action against the rule. Never before had a Injurious Wildlife listing been challenged or blocked. Nevertheless, the final rule was enacted March 23rd 2012 with four constricting snakes.

From the very beginning of this process USARK has been very careful to lay the groundwork and establish the public record that would afford us the ability to take legal action if necessary. Scientists from all over the world have criticized the sloppy and speculative work used by FWS to justify Lacey Act listing. In 2010 USARK filed a formal challenge of the USGS “Risk Assessment” under the Information Quality Act. In 2011 Georgetown Economic Services (GES) published “The Modern Reptile Industry”, an independent and comprehensive economic survey that included the impact that a Lacey Act listing was likely to have on legitimate business interests. The GES report demonstrated how the listing could impact as much as $104 million in trade annually. USARK built a clear and convincing case that FWS was potentially arbitrary and capricious in their zeal for a listing.

USARK and its counsel are carefully reviewing their legal options for addressing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s unwarranted listing of four constricting snakes, including Burmese pythons, on the Lacey Act’s Injurious Wildlife list. We believe the listing decision was precipitous, unsupported by the best available science, and poor policy. USARK is also concerned about the five other species of snakes, including Boa constrictor, that FWS has deferred addressing.

We believe FWS has exceeded its Lacey Act authority in terms of the breadth of the restrictions placed on the four listed species. The organization will continue to develop its legal theories and develop a plan for addressing the industry’s legitimate concerns with the proposed and final rules.

These legal maneuvers are not inexpensive, and will be even more costly if it is necessary to file a federal lawsuit. Our goal is to raise $250,000 between now and the end of the year. This is only a start. If we file a lawsuit it could easily require twice that amount. FWS doesn’t think that the Reptile Nation is capable of fielding a serious legal challenge to their arbitrary Lacey Act listing. They don’t think we can raise the money. We have waited until our legal team gave us the word that they felt we have a strong and clear course of action to follow. Now is the time for the Reptile Nation to stand up and take back what is ours!

Please use PayPal to [email protected]. Please put “LAW” in the comment or note area; or you can mail a check to: USARK, PO Box 279, Grandy, NC 27939. Please put “LAW” in the memo line.
 
Am I missing something here? I have seen this post in a few places now. It looks like an announcement of legal action by USARK. I don't see anything at all resembling any form of legal action in this post. Just solicitation for money so that "if" they decide to do anything they will have it maybe.
 
it's announcing how to donate specifically for the legal fund. I'm glad they sent the alert, I had donated and wanted it to be for the lawsuit but now we have a way to 'mark' the donations specifically for that use. (wish they announced this 2 months ago! haah)

They cannot actually file the lawsuit until they have raised the funds...
 
I wish USARK all the best and have given them a lot of support, but must say I see serious tactical errors in their approach, including a total failure to identify the source of the problem.
All the best
 
it's announcing how to donate specifically for the legal fund. I'm glad they sent the alert, I had donated and wanted it to be for the lawsuit but now we have a way to 'mark' the donations specifically for that use. (wish they announced this 2 months ago! haah)

They cannot actually file the lawsuit until they have raised the funds...

"Our goal is to raise $250,000 between now and the end of the year. This is only a start. If we file a lawsuit it could easily require twice that amount. FWS doesn’t think that the Reptile Nation is capable of fielding a serious legal challenge to their arbitrary Lacey Act listing."

read that very very very carefully a few times and let me know exactly what you get out of it.

It clear as day states they want $250K to decide IF they are going to move forward with a lawsuit. If they dont move forward are they going to return that $250k? Where is the $250K going.


Now, if the $250K shows them they can file a lawsuit why would they $500,000. Who needs 3/4 of a million dollars to file a lawsuit?
 
If they dont move forward are they going to return that $250k?

My guess would be no. I sent several hundred dollars right after they first announced it, and then later asked if they could give a public update somewhere as to how close we might be, so we could start some donations drives and get people pumped up.

As usual, no response. I'm very disappointed in how they just ignore people if it's not a question they feel like they have to answer. I guess it'll come out in the tax records for the next couple years. :shrug01:
 
my local herp club recently had a benefit auction for USARK (we raised over $4k for the legal fund) and at the club, our leader said that USARK hasn't really gotten close yet and was somewhere around $20k? I don't have a source for that other than what he said at the meeting.
:(
 
If they are going to all of us rather than to a big fancy corporation for donations, they need to be transparent about finances and they need to hire or appoint someone who will give updates and answer questions.

Money is tight for everyone right now. It's not like the old days when there was spare cash floating around.

None of us should be expected, or guilted into, parting with money without being able to see how it is spent.

We've seen good guys go bad, we've seen good companies go bad, it doesn't take that much extra effort to put together updates to make sure our money is going to guys who are still

1)Good and
2) Fighting for us.
 
Thanks for the info, April. Do you happen to know offhand if ZooMed is still matching dollar for dollar? That was another one I asked that went unanswered.
 
I don't know where all the money is going, but I have to question the 250K amount quoted to mount a legal challenge.
If the USFWS case for the python ban is as bad as made out, a challenge could be mounted for little more than the statutory filing costs, which would at best be a few thousand dollars.
Now I am sure there are legal people who keep reptiles (after all, how many lawyers are there in the USA?) who could prepare documents for the case.
I have serious misgivings in terms of USARK in that they fail to identify and deal with enemies within the herpetological camp and have as far as I have seen completely mucked up various cases and submissions so far, that gave the US FWS an easy run in terms of their new laws.
In the 1990's I singlehandledly had a raft of reptile ban laws repealed in Australia to allow private keeping to be legal for the first time in over 20 years, so I know what can be done with a little determination.
There is no doubt that the python ban could be overturned almost immediately with appropriate will and direction within the herp community.
But I do not see this happening in a hurry.
All the best
 

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These legal maneuvers are not inexpensive, and will be even more costly if it is necessary to file a federal lawsuit. Our goal is to raise $250,000 between now and the end of the year. This is only a start. If we file a lawsuit it could easily require twice that amount. FWS doesn’t think that the Reptile Nation is capable of fielding a serious legal challenge to their arbitrary Lacey Act listing. They don’t think we can raise the money. We have waited until our legal team gave us the word that they felt we have a strong and clear course of action to follow. .

If it is that strong and that clear, how come it isn't here? It isn't as if the reasons have to be kept a big secret, a party has to specify the reason they are challenging , in court.

In the past, people considered legal counsel as some sort of expensive arcane skill where you got to give the lawyer a potload of cash and hopefully you got the desired result.
Lord knows I am not against lawyers being paid, but in today's world, the law is no longer arcane.

There are clear explanations of various legal issues available online, and TV shows of all kinds have made people aware and more comfortable with the legal process. And today's world is more sophisticated in terms of results oriented spending for lawyers, doctors, and other professionals.

Where is this money going? How much are these lawyers getting paid, and who are they? What's the game plan?
You can't just ask for half a million dollars these days without some assurance of wise spending.

Corporate mishaps and misbehaviors, Ponzi schemes, and financial implosions by large companies have ended that era of innocence where one just opened one's wallet with blind trust.
Let's see some specifics.
 
USARK has a lawyer. Her name is Erika Nicole Walsh. She says she does stuff for free. Wyatt come on our forum and asked us for money. I was ready with some questions. Instead of answering them, he called me a dick and told me I wasnt an active giving good person to society and he didnt need to answer my basic questions. Last time I checked $250,000 isnt a lemonade stand. You want that kind of coin, you need to be ready to answer why. HE COULDNT might I add.
 
I'm beginning to smell tuna. USARK tuna.

Simple financial questions should be answered with courtesy and clarity. One has to have some transparency if one is asking for large donations for a cause, and that doesn't seem to be happening. Paul I'm sorry you were treated that way.
 
If people have questions about USARK, please direct them through the USARK web site (www.usark.org) or through email to USARK at [email protected] or through the USARK Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/USARK-United-States-Association-of-Reptile-Keepers/93475517723). USARK does not regularly look at this forum and so there is no representative here to answer your questions. I came across this accidentally.

On the USARK Facebook page it states that Zoo Med is matching dollar-for-dollar every dollar donated to USARK in 2012 up to $100,000. This is in general donations, not to the legal fund.

The last financial report i saw (just prior to Daytona) indicated that approximately $20K had been raised for the legal fund at that time. We are a long way from being able to pay a retainer for a federal law suit, but we are working hard on it.

Please feel free to direct your questions to the above contacts should you have further questions.

Sincerely,

Erika Walsh
Vice President
USARK
 
On the USARK Facebook page it states that Zoo Med is matching dollar-for-dollar every dollar donated to USARK in 2012 up to $100,000. This is in general donations, not to the legal fund.

Sorry, I meant on the USARK web page, not the Facebook page. :)
 
I
On the USARK Facebook page it states that Zoo Med is matching dollar-for-dollar every dollar donated to USARK in 2012 up to $100,000. This is in general donations, not to the legal fund.

Aww, that's a shame. Yeah my herp club never replied so I assumed the donation wasn't matched.
Thanks for the update Erika
 
If people have questions about USARK, please direct them through the USARK web site (www.usark.org) or through email to USARK at [email protected] or through the USARK Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/USARK-United-States-Association-of-Reptile-Keepers/93475517723). USARK does not regularly look at this forum and so there is no representative here to answer your questions. I came across this accidentally.

So that our questions can be ignored. :thumbsup:

On the USARK Facebook page it states that Zoo Med is matching dollar-for-dollar every dollar donated to USARK in 2012 up to $100,000. This is in general donations, not to the legal fund.

Thanks. But it didn't answer the question I asked, at the time I asked it. The info was not on the facebook page, and the info on the old usark site was outdated. Seriously, does no one have time to answer a couple emails?

The last financial report i saw (just prior to Daytona) indicated that approximately $20K had been raised for the legal fund at that time. We are a long way from being able to pay a retainer for a federal law suit, but we are working hard on it.

Thanks.
 
If people have questions about USARK, please direct them through the USARK web site (www.usark.org) or through email to USARK at [email protected] or through the USARK Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/USARK-United-States-Association-of-Reptile-Keepers/93475517723). USARK does not regularly look at this forum and so there is no representative here to answer your questions. I came across this accidentally.

On the USARK Facebook page it states that Zoo Med is matching dollar-for-dollar every dollar donated to USARK in 2012 up to $100,000. This is in general donations, not to the legal fund.

The last financial report i saw (just prior to Daytona) indicated that approximately $20K had been raised for the legal fund at that time. We are a long way from being able to pay a retainer for a federal law suit, but we are working hard on it.

Please feel free to direct your questions to the above contacts should you have further questions.

Sincerely,

Erika Walsh
Vice President
USARK

USARK regularly posts updates on almost all the snake/reptile forums (including this one) asking for things: Money, support, etc.

Does that mean that USARK is done posting on the forums? Or only when it comes to giving us updates on the donation drive?:confused:
 
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