USARK and the Reptile Nation prevail in hard fought victory in West Virginia. After serious legal concerns were voiced by USARK, and a large outpouring of opposition to SB477, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin chose to veto the bill. WV DNR also cited concerns with funding the bill. SB477 could easily have resulted in the banning of most non-native animals to the state.
Special thanks to Joe Perdue and Ron Lanham for leading USARK's grass roots charge opposing SB477. The bill sped through the WV Senate with no stakeholder input. USARK and their allies mounted a large grass roots fight in the WV House, but the bill was quickly pushed through again. USARK led a massive appeal to Governor Tomblin to veto SB477. Pet stores, hobbyists and professional Herpetologists all worked together to point out that this bill was poorly written, vague and fraught with legal problems. USARK filed a legal opinion pointing out serious problems last week. Thank you to everyone who helped pull this win out in the 12th hour! Thank you Governor Tomblin for vetoing this horrible piece of legislation.
It is obvious that the USARK position for standing strong against unfair legislation is working. USARK has now led the charge successfully stopping bills in VA, SC, RI, IL and WV in 2012. Thank you for all of you who suit up and show up when USARK calls for grass roots action. You are the strength of the Reptile Nation!
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