ALERT: America COMPETES Act of 2022 Lacey Act Amendments Buried within the 2,912 pages of the America COMPETES Act of 2022 lie Lacey Act amendments that affect not only herpetoculturists but all non-domesticated pet owners and the greater pet community (found on pages 1661-1665). COMPETES is an acronym for Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength. The stated purpose of the Act is to strengthen America’s economic and national security but obviously, this was slipped into the massive bill in hopes to go unnoticed.
The amendments would reverse the USARK federal lawsuit victory by reinstating the ban on interstate transportation of species listed as injurious under the Lacey Act. The bill would also create a “white list” (see link below). This goes far beyond large constrictor snakes. This will trickle down to hundreds or thousands of common pet species and applies to all animals (not just reptiles and amphibians).
Read more at https://usark.org/2022lacey/.
ALERT: North CarolinaREMINDER: The comment deadline is January 31, 2022! We have a new sub-alert for this issue posted at https://usark.org/2022ncalert2/. It only takes a minute to voice your opposition!
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has proposed new rules regarding keeping and importing (into North Carolina) reptiles and other animals. The biggest issues for herpetoculture in this proposal include a ban on all tegus and import permit requirement for native herp species. There are also changes to the native turtle species regulation.
If you have issues with or oppose any of these proposals, you must contact NCWRC for there to be any possibility of stopping overreach and unintended consequences. Remember to be civil and professional at all times!
Full details at https://usark.org/2022-ncrules/
Facebook alert: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedStatesAssociationOfReptileKeepers/posts/4605838502831400
National Ban on Animal Programs We have updated our alert to include the House companion bill. Since the Senate and House each have a bill, you should contact your Senators and Representative. Senate Bill 3220 and House Bill 5999 prohibit using certain animals (list below that even includes tortoises and small monitors) in "traveling animal acts," which will include the educational outreach programs provided by many animal keepers. S3220/HR5999 would amend Section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 24 2143) to include this ban on animal programs.
This bill, titled “Traveling Animal and Public Safety Protection Act of 2021," includes an introduction rife with misinformation with the intent to spark emotion while misleading the reader. The animal rights groups always fight with emotion over fact and they target legislators who fall for their games or sympathize with the animal rights agenda to remove all animals from our lives. This is an animal rights written bill! A legislator did not author this bill. Animal rights is a radical ideology against keeping any animals under human care (i.e. no pets, no livestock, no zoos, etc.). It is far different than animal welfare which supports animals being kept humanely.
Read more and take action at https://usark.org/2021_s3220/.
Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedStatesAssociationOfReptileKeepers/photos/4535634293185155
Find A Vet Need a good herp veterinarian? The Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) can help. ARAV provides a free Find-A-Vet service at http://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661. |