It's about time the whole issue of licensing was deeply scrutinised. Wokka is absolutely correct to ask what purpose it actually serves in the first place. We are not talking about 'fauna' in the accepted sense anymore - these captive bred animals are more properly referred to as 'pets.' They are not threatened (far from it), they play no part in 'the environment,' they may not be released, for the most part they are born, live & die in private hands. DECCWCS has now produced a list of numbers for possible hybrid combinations for carpet pythons, none of which could ever occur in the wild, but which they insist (by way of the need to hold them on licence) pertain in some way to conservation values.
I could understand the need for licensing if a species was part of a managed breeding program, or in some way threatened, but the tracking of pet reptiles in the manner done now serves no purpose whatsoever, other than keeping a department full of frustrated people engaged in an increasingly pointless activity.
DazMc, there is far more at stake here than a simple increase in fees - as has been pointed out in this thread, the service is abysmal and there seems to be no acknowlegement of that. If it was amatter of better service=slight cost increase, few would complain.
