Let's keep this constructive. I agree with the idea of the "right" rather than the "privilege". As the poster above noted, you can have your rights taken away for legitimate reasons, eg right to freedom deprived because you committed a serious crime, or right to keep dogs if you used them in dogfighting. I don't have a problem with people losing their right to keep animals IF they are deliberately and systematically abusing their animals. My major concern is that at the moment the concepts of "abuse" are being twisted cynically by the AR lobby.

Pet shops are IMHO necessary for the hobby. They provide part of the infrastructure whereby animal keepers of all persuasions can obtain equipment and food. Some of us may be able to build our own vivaria, but let's face it, we would be hard pressed to obtain insects in winter or dried fish food. Pet shops are subject to the law and bad ones are hopefully weeded out.

As to ARs being against pet keeping, it is on record that Ingrid Newkirk, head of PETA, regards it with a very jaundiced eye.

This presentation was for the Germany reptile trade, the purpose was to highlight the issues that might be facing them. Recently the ‘antis’ had started to attack the reptile industry in Germany, just as they did here years before. Was it well received, well to be honest hard for me to say. What I can say is that all, of the main players in the reptile industry were in the same room at the same time and, they are now discussing forming an organisation along the lines of REPTA.

I gave a similar presentation to the UK pet industry at the end of 2006:
Animal Rights & the Future of the Pet Industry
http://the-shg.org/OATA.htm

As a result of this the pet industry formed a new organisation ProPets. In the UK the pet industry has been divided in many ways, you have the Pet Care Trust representing general pets, OATA representing fish, REPTA reptiles and the Pet Product Retailers Association representing retailers. All have come together under the banner of ProPets to promote responsible pet ownership.

The ProPets website www.propetsgroup.org.uk is fairly basic, but if you take a look you will find two PDF documents to down load. One ‘Animal Welfare Matters’ is a document sent at the end of last year to all Local Authorities etc. The other ‘Positive About Pets’ has just been sent to all MP’s Lords, local and national government.