USARK has an official YouTube channel! If you missed it, we have a new YouTube channel! We plan to post a new video every Friday. Please go subscribe and share to help us build our audience for this important channel.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUqGNL4mvOsJecjJwG6onMw
Special thanks to Garrett and Thomas from Reach Out Reptiles for getting this channel up and going!
Lacey Act Amendments On April 7, we reported the members of the conference committee that will merge (or reconcile) the two bills we have been discussing since January 28 (HR4521 America COMPETES Act from the House and S1260 USICA from the Senate). You can find that list of conferees at https://usark.org/laceycomm/. If any of these are your legislators, please contact them with your opposition (even if you have already done so)! If your legislators are not listed, you should still let your opposition to these Lacey Act amendments be known through phone calls, mailed letters, faxes, and emails.
The Bipartisan Innovation Act (this is the current name for the bill that will merge HR4521 and S1260) is a top priority on Capitol Hill. The primary goal of this bill is to boost high-tech research and chip manufacturing in the United States, but the House version (3,610 pages) hid many other non-related sections and amendments. Since the House and Senate passed different versions, the two versions must now be reconciled by the special Committee listed above. This matter will see more formal discussion sometime after April 22 (due to the current recess/state work period).
Our permanent alert link (where we have posted these updates) remains https://usark.org/2022lacey/.
ALERT: Royal Oak, Michigan A city ordinance is being discussed that could affect all non-domesticated animals. Animal owners should attend the next City Commission meeting (April 25) and contact local officials to prevent overreach.
Read the full alert and related article at https://usark.org/22royaloak/.
Phoenix Reptile Expo With a new installation, the best show in Arizona (and one of the best in the U.S.) now has a spring show... and it happens this weekend! USARK will have a booth with new shirts, Lacey Act updates, legislative action materials, membership sign-ups, and more. Stop by and help protect your herp community! Thank you to the Phoenix Reptile Expo and the volunteers running the booth for making this possible.
Get more show details athttp://phxreptileexpo.com.
ALERT: Connecticut UPDATE 3/28: The bill passed Committee but it was amended. The list of species in the bill text was edited. The good news is that it removed the “including, but not limited to” text. This means that now the bill is limited to the list of species listed in the text. It no longer includes ALL non-domesticated animals, but instead only the species in the classifications below. Here is the relevant new definition:
- “exotic or wild animal” means any Canidae other than a domestic dog, cetartiodactyla, crocodilian, elasmobranchii, Felidae other than a domestic cat, marsupialia, nonhuman primates, perissodactyla other than a domestic horse, pony, donkey or mule, pinnipedia, probocidea, ratites, spheniscidae or Ursidae
This is still a bad and unnecessary bill authored by radical animal rights groups. They will assuredly try to get the original broad species ban text implemented, whether that is this session during the legislative process or in a future session as an amendment to the law if the bill passes. The end game is NO ANIMALS IN OUR LIVES! This is just one board building the coffin to end it all.
Thank you to everyone who opposed the original bill and those who continue to do so. Your voices made a difference!Here is the complete new text: https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-CT-HB5293-amend.pdf
Get all details at https://usark.org/22ct/.
Lacey Act Frequently Act Questions (FAQ) We have compiled a comprehensive list of questions and answers regarding the unsettling Lacey Act amendments found in the America COMPETES Act. Please read and share to keep animal communities and businesses informed. This is especially helpful on social media where we have seen misinformation posted regarding this issue. This FAQ is a very valuable and informative tool to keep everyone educated. Thank you to everyone opposing these disturbing and overreaching changes to the Lacey Act!
On our website: https://usark.org/2022laceyfaq/
On Facebook (image 1): https://www.facebook.com/UnitedStatesAssociationOfReptileKeepers/photos/4891602957588285/
On Facebook (image 2): https://www.facebook.com/UnitedStatesAssociationOfReptileKeepers/photos/4895288790553035/ |
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