The Federation of British Herpetologists

Submission on the draft Animal Welfare bill	11/09/04
Introduction Today there are in excess of one million homes in the UK keeping over 5 million pet reptiles, and many species are now commonly regarded as domesticated. In the recent report from the Companion Animal Welfare Council (2003) they concluded:- “it may be easier to keep some non-domesticated species to high welfare standards than some that are domesticated. Thus, meeting all the requirements - space, dietary, social, thermal, and so on - of a small, hardy, reptile may be more readily achievable for many people than adequately fulfilling all the needs of some breeds of dog” . .... >> MORE*
Cash Strapped Charity Squanders Over a Million Pounds on a Witch Hunt	24/01/03
Over the past decade the RSPCA have wasted over one million pounds of money donated by the public on a witch hunt against reptiles. Snakes have a hard time around the world and are widely persecuted by people who wrongly believe that they are evil or dangerous. Millions of harmless snakes are needlessly slaughtered every year because people have a tendency to kill what they do not understand. .... >> MORE
The FBH – some popular questions answered	02/01/03
The FBH (Federation of British Herpetologists) was set up as an umbrella organisation to which clubs and societies can affiliate and individuals, shops, breeders and businesses can join. The main aim has always been to unite UK reptile (and of course amphibian) keepers so that we can tackle a whole range of issues and fight opposition to the hobby from a strong base. The FBH is fronted by a committee of people from the trade, representatives from affiliated groups and “ordinary” hobbyists. Many others are also co-opted to perform different jobs as needed. All are volunteers who passionately believe we should be allowed to pursue our chosen hobby without persecution and all give up their time freely to this end. Reptiles and reptile keeping has, in recent years, taken something of a bashing from so-called animal rights’ groups and, indeed, from others, notably the RSPCA. This culminated in the publication of the report “Morbidity and Mortality in Private Husbandry of Reptiles”. This report essentially called for extensive species bans on almost all CITES-listed species and, if the recommendations had been implemented, would have been catastrophic for all reptile keepers. The FBH exposed this report and made it available for public scrutiny and as a result it has now been totally discredited. The FBH recently “hijacked” an RSPCA radio interview which was aimed at showing reptiles could not be kept in captivity. Thanks to several of our members the whole tone of the interview turned in our favour and Simon King ended up essentially dominating the proceedings. The FBH will continue put the balance right whenever possible. The FBH is not just a political pressure group. We also offer free legal advice and support to our members (and others who need it!), we help to run shows and breeders’ events and have recently introduced a voluntary Code of Practice for importers, wholesalers and retailers Prior to this year almost all shows were cancelled due to the ill-conceived and fanatical campaign by the extremist group Animal Aid. Now we are fighting back. Despite extreme pressure from the lunatic fringe all six shows planned for 2002 have run successfully. We know that clubs rely on the revenue from shows and it is appalling that so many clubs have been forced to fold. The FBH will support any affiliated club that wishes to run a show and will back them up with the necessary legal “clout”. We have proved it works and we look forward to a great show circuit this year. We know many people have been looking for some form of self-regulation for the trade and the FBH has been working closely with traders to adopt a scheme which will work, which will have credibility and which will be acceptable to those who join. We think our voluntary Code of Practice and Customer Charter, drawn up with input from retailers, wholesalers and other traders, fits all of these criteria and we are now implementing this. If you have an interest in Reptiles and Amphibians then support the Federation of British Herpetologists, we are fighting for you. If you think that its not your problem then remember, reptile keeping has never faced a greater threat, and the Animal Rights groups are already focusing their attentions on their next prey, bird and fish keeping, confident of their victory over herpetologists. United, we can turn the tide, it is NOT TOO LATE. The Federation of British Herpetologists January 2003 (www.f-b-h.co.uk)
Press Release defending IHS show	03/10/02
Dear Sirs, With reference to your article in Mondays edition entitled ‘PETS FAIR BLAST; CAMPAIGNERS CONDEMN COUNCIL’. Reptile Conservation Groups Condemn Terrorist Tactics As Chairman of the federation of British Herpetologists I feel compelled to correct some of the comments in your article. In fact the meeting of the International Herpetological Society (a respected and long-standing group of reptile conservationists and breeders) was entirely legal and above board, as Elaine Toland and the fanatical anti-reptile keeping group “Animal Aid” are well aware. ... >>DOWNLOADS
ENDANGERED: RSPCA to Drive Reptile Keeping into Extinction	19/04/02
The RSPCA has traditionally been viewed as an animal welfare organisation, primarily looking after domestic pets such as cats and dogs. Increasingly, and alarmingly, however, the animal charity has recently been functioning as a political pressure group, spending vast sums of money commissioning reports which support their various campaigns. One such report “Morbidity and mortality in private husbandry of reptiles” and the précis thereof “Far from home – reptiles that suffer and die in captivity” could have a devastating effect on private individuals who wish to keep reptiles and effectively force reptile keeping into extinction .... >> MORE
FAR FROM HOME, OR FAR FROM THE TRUTH?	13/03/02
Responsible reptile keepers throughout the UK are increasingly alarmed about recent inaccurate and irresponsible press releases from the RSPCA. The most recent of these reports "Far From Home" chooses to highlight a few case studies of reptiles supposedly suffering from poor husbandry. What the RSPCA do not reveal is that during the same period there were thousands of cases of poor husbandry relating to domestic animals, principally cats and dogs, and that a great many animals are annually killed by the RSPCA, over 90,000 in the year 2000 alone, either because they cannot not be re-homed or for other reasons. The cases involving reptiles are, by comparison, infinitesimal .... >> MORE
FBH Response To RSPCA	31/01/02
On the 30th January 2002, the Federation of British Herpetologists received directly from the RSPCA a document entitled Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, RSPCA submission to DEFFRA, dated 2nd January 2002. .... >> MORE