Ohio.... Just the start?

The news from late Thursday was not good at all, I had heard rumors of an executive order to ban exotics about a month ago in the state of Ohio, but at that time it seemed unlikely that it would happen. Here’s how things are going, the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) has been working very diligently to get exotic animals outlawed in this country. Don’t think they will stop when they achieve that goal, they will then move onto YOUR pets (dog and cats). Exotics are the easiest of the pet trade to go after because the majority of people are not educated and will not be opposed to supporting a ban. Lets face it most people that hear exotic pets, think that we are keeping Lions in our spare bedroom. We all know about the proposed bills in congress over the past two years, and the possible Rule Change in the USFWS that would ban interstate travel of the big snakes including Boas. Well, the HSUS is a smart bunch of people and they are not putting all their eggs in just those two baskets, they have found a new tactic, and this time it worked! They basically held the Governor of Ohio hostage and threatened to go after the way the agricultural farmers were keeping their livestock unless he made an executive order to ban exotics. So basically if he didn’t implement the exotic ban, that would include all big cats, bears, big pythons and boas as well as venomous snakes, he would lose his next election because the farmers would rise up against him. I understand the Governors position, he took the better of two evils. Yeah, he’s destroying an entire community in Ohio, pet shops, reptile shows, the largest exotic live animal auction in the country, not to mention breeders and wholesalers. Will it cost millions and millions of dollars of lost revenue and tens of thousands of jobs, probably. If he let the HSUS go after the meat farmers it would have cost a hundred times that in revenue and jobs. What is the most concerning here is the HSUS found a way to achieve their goal without having to get ONE vote. You tell me, do you think they are going to use this same tactic in every state that has substantial farming? Of course they will! I morn for the loss of business in Ohio, but I fear for the loss for the entire hobby. This my friends might be the first domino, and we as a hobby have to stand up and stop this insanity before they come to your backyard and stop you from keeping and breeding the animals you love! Support USARK now or we will all be looking back like our friends in Ohio with the look of disbelief. www.usark.org

This sickens me

Im not in the US, but I do feel for you guys!

Good Luck! I hope you can stop them, the HSUS sounds like a bunch of wackos :mad:

As of right now the ban is on anything over 6' and hots. But the word is the new gov is going to veto most of the bill.

So is it just a bill right now or did this actually happen?

also I think a huge problem is HSUS acts like they help animals, and they get crazy donations for it, then turn around and use 95% of the money for lobby for laws/bills like this. If people were just simply were informed of what the HSUS actually does, I think their power would disappear in less than a year.

By the way this all came about because a rescued bear killed a man here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

So is it just a bill right now or did this actually happen?

also I think a huge problem is HSUS acts like they help animals, and they get crazy donations for it, then turn around and use 95% of the money for lobby for laws/bills like this. If people were just simply were informed of what the HSUS actually does, I think their power would disappear in less than a year.

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It passed

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

So is it just a bill right now or did this actually happen?

also I think a huge problem is HSUS acts like they help animals, and they get crazy donations for it, then turn around and use 95% of the money for lobby for laws/bills like this. If people were just simply were informed of what the HSUS actually does, I think their power would disappear in less than a year.

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Because it's an executive order it does not need to pass, it's the Govenors power to sign into law without having a vote on it.

This really disheartens me. We need to really get our word to Kasich on Monday.:(

I hate the HSUS. Just sayin'. They're about as close to PETA as it gets, without being a complete clone. How about educating people instead of trying to violate their rights? It'll start there, then they'll say we can't own certain breeds of dogs, then who knows what they'll spread it to. Ridiculousness. /endrant

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BHB

Because it's an executive order it does not need to pass, it's the Govenors power to sign into law without having a vote on it.

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holy crap, I didn't even know governors had this power.... its the patriot act all over again

I'm literally at a lost for words, this should be a local government matter, not statewide, why does the state have so much power, why does the governor have the ability to issue and executive order? this is not the country I learned about in school. where are the checks and balances?

It effects us reptile owners right now, but this is bigger than the reptile industry, I mean what happens when the governor decides on a whim "there too much crime during the night, i'm issuing a statewide curfew" "there too much pollution in the air, no gasoline cars allowed on the road, every now must buy an electric car" i mean extreme, yes, but what stopping him?

:salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute:

Gotta love how a few people can control everyone because they do everything behind the curtains.

This calls for ANARCHY!!!

I hate people.

Thank you Brian and everyone else for supporting Ohio's fight against unjust laws. This is what is called and emergency executive order. With it the DNR has 90 days to publish the rules that go into affect for 90 days while the Ohio House of Reps and Ohio Senate have to vote on the law to put it in place forever. If the Ohio Government does not ratify it within that 90 day window the law goes away. If they ratify it then it becomes law forever. A 90 day ban in Ohio can significantly affect not only the breeders in Ohio, but people that sell animals to residents of Ohio. Only one person can end this very quickly and that is Governor Kasich. We need to put as much pressure on him from inside the state and outside the state as possible starting on Monday and not ending until he ends the executive order. That means calling every day and sending those E-mails. Another post gives the contact info and things to point out. It is very important that we keep calm when talking to Kasich's aids and sending E-mails to him. We do not want to come across as a group of crazy people. If the Governor does not respond to reason then we can look at taking it to the next level. That could be if the HSUS pressured the Governor into passing this executive order by threatening the beef industry with a ballot measure, maybe we need to take that ballot measure and move forward with it as reptile nation incase the new Governor does not do away with this executive order right away. The beef industry can either back elimination of this executive order and have us go to the polls with them when the HSUS gets the ballot measure on, or they can go to the polls without us as we are the ones putting it on the ballot.

Yea, I hate this idea as well since I love my steak just as well as any meatatarian. Sometimes though politicians are always ready to condemn one for another.

Also I just figured I would let everyone know that a current list of affected animals is out. Also though it should be noted that the power transferred to the Department of Natural Resources through this executive order means they can put more animals on the list without notice or scientific evidence. Also in order to keep the Ohio beef industry ballot measure from getting introduced Ohio has to meet additional criteria established by the HSUS by 2014 then again 2017. With that said we can either draw the line in the sand concerning special interests now or wait until the precedent has been set that they can just bowl over exotic animal pet owners and the exotic animal pet trade.

Here is the current list:
(1) Class mammalia, order carnivora:

(a) Family canidae: coyote (Canis latrans), timber and gray wolf (Canis
lupus), excluding wolf-dog hybrids;

(b) Family felidae: lions (Panthera leo), tigers (Panthera tigris), jaguars
(Panthera onca), leopard (Panthera pardus), clouded leopard (Neofelis
nebulosa), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus),
bobcat (Rufus rufus), lynx (Lynx rufus), cougars, pumas, or mountain
lions (Puma concolor), including hybrids thereof;

(c) Family ursidae: all species of bears.

(2) All species of Class mammilia, order primates excluding humans.

(3) Class reptilia:

(a) Order crocodylia: all species of alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and
gharials.

(b) Order squamata:

(i) Family atractaspidae: all species, such as mole vipers.

(ii) Family boidae: anaconda (Genus eunectes), Burmese python
(Python molurus), reticulated python (Python reticulatus),
amethystine python (Morelia amethistinus), scrub python
(Morelia kinghorni), northern African python (Python sebae),
southern African python (Python natalensis).

(iii) Family colubridae: boomslang (Dispholidus typus), twig snake
(Genus thelotornis).

(iv) Family elapidae: all species, such as cobra, mamba, and coral
snakes.

(v) Family hydrophiidae: all species, such as sea snakes.

(vi) Family viperidae: all species, such as rattlesnakes, pit vipers, and
puff adders.