Hello,
I agree, the PETA & the ASPCA are governmental agencies which seek to gain control & end the pet trade in the US. I don't want to turn this into a political thread but, it is all the government's control & rules. The direction this country is going into a complete dictatorship which means taking all enjoyment out of its' citizens life meaning pets, etc.
What I think should be done is a license possibly to own them which would help control who can breed, own & sell. That is what I have tried to do with the Adeno testing, to try & set some type of health standard in the bearded dragon industry but haven't been real successful. Standards should be set so they are healthier across the board from the start which would greatly help out new owners as well. There are standards to some extent for cats & dogs so reptiles should be treated the same way. It would go a long way to cut down on the ill dragons at petstores if the petstores were held to better standards as well as the breeders. My goal was just to hold breeders to a higher standard so the dragons would start off healthier.
It starts with education, I agree. It is with anything though, if you are armed with more resources from the beginning, you will have better success in the future. I do not think that they should be banned, but just some standards set, that's all. The government needs to get its hands out of it though & instead, have some nice rescue facilities help with starting a better level of standards here in the country.
If they want to "ban" them, they will destroy the pet trade as well as a lot of wonderful owners who have done absolutely nothing wrong. I hope that they reconsider their decisions, but we are talking about the government here. It may just go down to the blackmarket, I don't know.
The ASPCA & PETA are going about it all wrong & trying to punish the good owners without even considering their actions in the future & how they are hurting the species.
Sorry, those are just my opinions.
Tracie