Ohio bill Passed

[ER12]

SB310 passes the Ohio House 87-9. It will now go to Governor Kasich for his signature into law. This is a sad day for the Ohio reptile community...

[Slim]

Very sorry to hear this news. I know we have many members from Ohio who have been watching this closely.

The craziness keeps on rolling along...

[rebelrachel13]

That's no good at all.

I was reading this bill just now on the OH state legislature website and I'm amazed at how confusing and strange the writing seems. Forgive me if this is not the correct version of SB310 that has passed.

(O) "Wildlife sanctuary" means a nonprofit organization as described in section 170 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 170, as amended, that is accredited or verified by the global federation of animal sanctuaries, that operates a place of refuge where abused, neglected, unwanted, impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced dangerous wild animals or restricted snakes are provided care for their lifetime or released back to their natural habitat, and, with respect to an animal or snake possessed by the organization, that does not do any of the following:
(1) Use or allow the use of the animal or snake for any type of entertainment or in a traveling exhibit;
(2) Sell, trade, lease, loan, or barter the animal or snake or the animal's or snake's body parts;
(3) Use or allow the use of the animal or snake in any manner for profit;
(4) Breed the animal or snake;
(5) Allow the public the opportunity to come into physical contact with the animal or snake.

So now, snakes are not "animal"-y enough to fit in the animal category. I get that they're abbreviating "dangerous animals and restricted snakes" by just saying animals and snakes, but that is a truly indolent and ignorant way to do so.

I'm also really bothered by the fact that when it comes to rescues/sanctuaries, the public is not allowed to handle the animals even in educational seminars or demonstrations. There goes education.

(D)(1) An applicant shall obtain and maintain proof of financial responsibility in one of the following forms:
(a) A liability insurance policy with an insurer authorized or approved to write such insurance in this state that covers claims for injury or damage to persons or property caused by a dangerous wild animal possessed by the applicant or any resulting claims against the state;
(b) A surety bond, which shall be executed by a surety company authorized to do business in this state that covers claims for injury or damage to persons or property caused by a dangerous wild animal possessed by the applicant or any resulting claims against the state. The bond shall be in a form approved by the director of agriculture.
(2) Proof of financial responsibility shall be in one of the following amounts, as applicable:
(a) Two hundred thousand dollars if the applicant possesses not more than five dangerous wild animals;
(b) Five hundred thousand dollars if the applicant possesses at least six, but not more than fifteen dangerous wild animals;
(c) One million dollars if the applicant possesses sixteen or more dangerous wild animals.
The amounts specified in division (D)(2) of this section shall be for each occurrence of injury or damage.

The insurance requirements of this bill are so, so unjustifiably high. According to this bill, a single 13-foot captive-bred securely-housed Burmese python is capable of $200,000 worth of damage and should be insured as such. What???

[Vasiliki]

.... I have no words for this. I am completely speechless What a terrible, terrible day.

[DemmBalls]

Wow! This sickens me. I just moved from Ohio back to PA recently. I still have several friends keeping/breeding in Ohio though. What a sad sad day. Ignorance prevailed...

[Brian Fobian]

What is going on in America I'm very sorry to hear this, maybe I should forget my future plans, about moving to the US.. But sadly I think, all this madness also will hit Europe. People what is happening to our freedom??

[Royal Hijinx]

What is going on in America I'm very sorry to hear this, maybe I should forget my future plans, about moving to the US.. But sadly I think, all this madness also will hit Europe. People what is happening to our freedom??

Our ignorance and apathy as a whole is letting our elected officials take it away from us.

[DemmBalls]

Just for people to see.

As passed:

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/b...?ID=129_SB_310

[BFE Pets]

So lets pass the hat and take up a collection. I bet we can buy the governor's veto on the bill. lol j/k It does suck. my wife and I are considering relocating just because of this bill. and the fact that not only is the governor currupt but so are half of the other politicians in the state. (my oppinion not supported by any hard evidence)

[rlditmars]

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist this is how it starts.

Am I correct in assuming that this bill was introduced in response to the unfortunate tragedy where all the bears, and large cats were loosed on the public by a suicidal caretaker last year?

If that is correct, it appears the legislative body took license and figured it would seize the opportunity to round up all species that they deem "undesirable", for lack of a better term. It is the proverbial slippery slope.

Unfortunately, ours is a passion that has been hard to muster support for as fear and ignorance keep so many away. But I am sad to hear this for so many more reasons beyond just the loss of the right to possess certain species of reptiles. This is pervasive throughout our society right now. One person/groups actions initiate a knee jerk response that the rest of us are left to pay the price for.

Your choice is to act or accept. Remember the ambitious, regardless of how misguided, will always prevail over the apathetic.