Bills banning reptiles proposed in MANY states.

Discussion in 'Reptile Law & Legislation' started by WingedWolf, Feb 6, 2012.

  1. WingedWolf

    WingedWolf Member

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    Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Rhode Island, and Illinois so far. If you live in one of these States, HEADS UP. You need to write an actual letter, pick up the phone and call, and show up, IN PERSON when the hearing is scheduled.
    It worked for us here in Nebraska when we faced anti-exotics legislation. We beat it. You can too, but only if you, personally, participate. You cannot afford to sit this one out.

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    Ian L., Cherin and JEFFREH like this.
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    ive already made phone calls for the va bans going on. my state is usually so chill with exotics and now we have all these bans trying to go though
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. StikyPaws312

    StikyPaws312 Moderator

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    Ugh, this is absolutely ridiculous. It really bothers me when this is "such a big deal" to law makers that they spend time arguing and passing ignorant laws against what kind of pets people can own when they should be worried about MANY other things.... like the national debt, unemployment, welfare, social security, healthcare, actual criminals....
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. lizardgurl87

    lizardgurl87 HOTM Winner April

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    Ugh! Now Ohio of course! The new governer from the start enforced exotic animal laws....They don't understand they're just as much of a pet as a cat or dog! And they say they're "dangers to society" Well, only if not treated correctly! People make me mad! :mad:

    The ban currently is more on big cats, wolves, you know-jungle type animals. This all started when that idiot guy killed himself and let all his 48 animals go off his exotic animal a few months ago. They had to kill most all the animals(lions, tigers, and bears...for real)since they were in the city and going crazy-they couldn't stop them.

    I've been reading on it and it's more now the things that seriously can be a danger to society-big animals-only reptiles I've heard included are crocodiles and komodo dragons. I know crocodiles are a popluar pet which sorta sucks, but most people can't take care of them at all(and will most likely get rid of them) and komodo dragons are just flat out dangerous! I know of a man who purchased a komodo dragon in Britain before and it went on a killing spree...they just need to stay on the Galapagos Islands.

    They would still let you get some of the animals banned with a permit, which I think is fair-since all the animals they plan to ban impose possible danger. I'm only talking about the Ohio one also and this is just what I've researched.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    Ohio is putting emphasis on the species of reptile you listed, but the agenda is a much greater span when you get into the fine print:

    "Lastly, this bill will put into place some basic standards, primarily based on the
    recommendations of the Zoological Association of America, to regulate the breeding,
    ownership, and sale of constricting and venomous snakes while also ensuring that the
    public is safe and the animals are cared for properly. This portion of the bill to maintain,
    breed and acquire new snakes." - Ohio State Senator Troy Balderson

    I'm not fond of having anyone regulate my collection of completely harmless reptiles... I truly fear for Ohio because of this Zanesville incident.

    WingedWolf - We appreciate the updates; and we do need to get off our rears as a community and do something. The quotation play from Martin Niemoller is so incredibly true to our hobby... Thank God we have USARK, but there is so much that individual can do. We cant just wait around crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

    And for anyone else who thinks that these laws don't apply to you, think again. Gecko owners, beardie owners, frog owners... who do you think they'll come for next? There is already a proposal for adding Amphibians to the Lacey Act unless certified free of Chytid Fungus...

    I'm working on getting emails circulated through a few University Biology and Pre-Vet clubs to raise some awareness.
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. WingedWolf

    WingedWolf Member

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    I think we also need to stop telling lawmakers 'oh, you can ban the tigers, but don't touch our reptiles'. We need to make it clear that we don't want bans on ANY animals, reptiles most of all, but not exclusively. The Exotics keepers do lobby for us, and we need to return the favor. They're facing a lot more trouble than we are in all of this. Not everyone should own a tiger...but few people do, and out of those who do, there are many responsible keepers. They don't deserve to lose their animals, either.
    Was anyone actually injured in the Zanesville incident? I hadn't heard that anyone was, but please correct me if I'm wrong. I had heard dark rumors that some animals were shot needlessly, and there was a refusal to allow tranq guns to be used for live capture. That some animals were found shot dead inside their own cages.
     
  12. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    To my knowledge, no one was harmed from the Zanesville incident (except the suicidal owner), and the animals were killed due to a "high potential" for being dangerous to humans.
     
  13. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    Brilliantly said. I feel like this is kind of a "give an inch, and they'll take a mile" kind of thing. Power in numbers, we need to support other pet owners just as we wish for them to support us.
     
  14. lizardgurl87

    lizardgurl87 HOTM Winner April

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    Well, all you're saying is true-good owners should still be able to own their "potentially dangerous" pets. But, like always in life-one person can screw it up for everyone, which seems to be the case here. They are proposing revised laws, that aren't as strict as planned before now. It's been in the news the past few days.

    "The bill would let owners of constricting and venomous snakes keep their reptiles, but they must have safety plans in place in case the snakes got out. Owners could still breed and acquire new snakes." Balderson's office said.

    It's good they've revised them now-it will also allows people that own animals like monkeys to still have them, but they would need to meet new standards.
    Here's a nice article on it where I got that info- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/04/ohio-exotic-pets-ban-_n_1254595.html
     
  15. WingedWolf

    WingedWolf Member

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    The snakes need to be removed altogether. There's never been a single incident with an escaped constrictor ever harming anyone. There is 0 public safety risk involved in keeping constrictors, and scant little even from venomous. This is needless legislation in regards to reptiles, and simply makes things unnecessarily expensive for reptile owners. I recommend fighting it.
     
  16. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  17. Ian L.

    Ian L. New Member

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    OMFG!!!!! how stupid can these @$#@#$%@@ lawmakers be?!?!?! Pet alligators and caimans regulations are beginning to tighten up. This is so ridiculous and that make me so mad!!!! :mad:
    We need to show the world that caimans don't really pose a threat to anybody. these animals are just misunderstood creatures and we need to prove that they are usually very calm and well-behaved. Usually, they will only attack if u make em furious or if it is mating season. Like if u agree.
     
  18. Badger711

    Badger711 Member

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    Any updates on what happened to the RI bill? I can't find info on it, any help? D:

    Edit: Upon further research, the bill was tabled on Feb. 25th, at the hearing. yay.

    There's many other bills still up in the air in other states though, especially WV. Help your hobby!
     

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