House Bill HB2414

I truly believe that we have the right to hunt, fish, or participate in other outdoor recreation on private lands and water with permission, and on public lands or water. Also that we should be able to enjoy reasonable access to public lands for hunting. Upon first reading House Bill 2414 this bill seems perfectly reasonable. It is unsafe to hunt WITH A FIREARM from a roadway or right-of-way. However when they changed the language of the bill to read "wild animal" instead of "game animal, wild fowl, or bird" this amendment will make illegal the pursuit of live capture of a variety of native reptiles and amphibians, because TPW code currently defines hunt very broadly as "the pursuit with the intent to capture, trap, or kill". So in essence if I were to stop safely off the side of the road and pick up a snake it would be illegal under the proposed legislation. It would not matter if I were hunting snakes with the proper license or if I were just a little old lady trying to save a turtle by moving it off the road to safety. Or if a visitor at a picnic area lets their children chase and catch a lizard. Road hunting for reptiles in some form or other has been done all over the US and Texas for 50 years and maybe more. IF this legislation passes Texas will be the FIRST and ONLY state to outlaw road hunting of reptiles. Road hunting for reptiles does not consist of killing or harming them. There are laws already in place to protect over hunting of species. I live in West Texas. I have a motel there. If the folks that make their annual, semi annual, or quarterly visits to see, photograph, hunt, and just basically enjoy the animals (some of which you can only have a chance seeing at night) stop coming here I will be much worse off economically. West Texas is already a depressed area economically. I am just one small motel (14 rooms). If I loose 30% of my yearly business that would mean the region has much more to loose. There are people that come here from all over just to observe or photograph our "wild animals". They buy food, gas, lodging, and license to hunt. They stay on average 5-7 days. This will truly have an economic impact not just for me but all of west Texas. I realize that people are concerned that "commercial" collections may be a problem. If there has been studies done to show decline in species then protect that species or put limits on the number of animals of a species like many, many other states do. IF there is a safety concern TP&W needs to provide "verifiable" statistics for a given period of time (ie 2006) showing how many property damage, personal injury and fatal traffic accidents occurred throughout Texas during this given period of time that involved individuals collecting reptiles and amphibians on Texas roadways or rights of way. LEGISLATION should NOT TAKE AWAY OUR RIGHTS to have a reptile related hobby be it finding a pet snake or turtle along Texas road ways, or just photography of said animals. I am reaching out to the media in hopes that given enough protests the legislature will not pass this bill. Please contact your local representative if you have any concerns with this bill. Thank you.