The regs are for the benefit of most snakes
For breeders etc they will be a pain in the backside if they retain too many yearlings
Too bad
For those who keep lots of larger snakes in racks or plastic boxes
Too bad
Basically if you dont have enough room to house your babies sell some
Far too many people have adopted the American system thats all over Utube etc
Those ideas are for full time commercial breeders who have $$$$ as their bottom line
Hobbyists should be looking at aesthetics and welfare as well
For those who say if they live and breed they are ok
Battery hens live and breed
Force fed pigs live and breed
So in that perspective you are correct
But is it good for the long term?
.
Having been involved in this exercise from the outset Longqi, I have to say that your first premise is incorrect. The evolution of MANDATORY cage sizes has far more to do with politics and the personal opinions/beliefs/prejudices of the bureaucrats who entered into discussions with some of the most experienced reptile keepers in the country, and after 18 months, discarded the advice they were given by the very people who have made reptiles a major part of their professional lives. With an exception or two, the consultants were NOT professional or commercial breeders.
From the outset, but unknown to us, this has been an exercise to force a particular ideology on reptile keepers in NSW, and it is part of an Australia-wide move to force more controls by legislation onto reptile keepers in this country. It is no secret that reptile keepers are regarded with distaste by most state bureaucracies in this country. The 'look' of enclosures is very important to them, but the fact that our breeding successes and the general health of our captives has never been better in the history of keeping, escapes them, and it seems, you too.
I'm surprised to see Bluetongue1 suggesting that increasing the power of the enforcers might be a helpful step, especially as he lives in WA, where reptile keepers still have crawl on their bellies to please their bureaucratic masters. Enforcement does little or nothing to address the problem of cruelty - cruel or insensitive people are always just that, and most will never be scrutinised.
The problem with all of this is that the Department has been asked
many times for details of ongoing problems, or in fact ANY evidence of an ongoing problem with regard to keeper cruelty, and our requests fall on deaf ears.
This legislation is the baby of a couple of zealous bureaucrats who have found something they think will have their names up in lights if they succeed in wielding the big hammer. ANY legislation MUST be justified by evidence of need before being inflicted on the public.
They have not justified it because they can't, so they remain silent.
Longqi, whilst I understand your concern for the welfare of all captive reptiles, you are probably very anthropomorphic in your approach If you accept the fact that a snake in prime physical condition, which breeds well and is in all repects a healthy animal, as many more of our captives are today compared to even 20 years ago, then we as group must be doing something right. There is no reasonable comparison which can be made with battery hens or intensive piggeries - neither of which I approve of... and don't even get me started on the live cattle & sheep export trades... If you live in Indonesia, perhaps you should spend a bit of time trying to change the barbaric practices with these animals there, rather than suggesting that something may not be right with the private reptile keeping hobby here...
Jamie