[Rich]

the other thing is i can see a bunch of people rushing the purchase of animals in hopes of grandfathering them in if this ever becomes official and nationwide permits are needed. it happens every time something gets rumored to be bumped up to CITES 1...everyone wants the quick buck of reselling when they cant be brought in anymore or breeders want to lay in as many as possible so they can be breeding a now hard to find animal.

Grandfathering is not always the case with these laws, in my state (CT) when snakeheads were banned they banned POSESSION completely and all current owners were told to turn theirs in to be destroyed regardless of when they were aquired.

[teleost]

Unfortunately I think Brooklamprey is right.

I have said it once and I'll say it again:
If the hobbyists and the pet industry themseves do not begin fixing this mess of released and illegal animals we are all going to lose in the end

I believe all that's required is just a sign the pet industry will be more careful of what it sells to whom.

It's so much better to be proactive and say "see what we did" rather than reactive screaming "it'll ruin our business" after laws with backbone pass.

If the pet industry had simply made people sign a silly contract or something stupid they could have shown this document once the snakeheads were found in public waters. This would have given them the upper hand in the media. It's too late for that now no snakeheads.

The pet industry must realize this is a PR war they must win to keep certain portions of it alive.