BAD news Georgia... :( ASF's BANNED

[AaronP]

GA has some really silly laws on animals. A few years back my sister-in-law was trying to find a home for an unwanted sugar glider so I was looking into care and learned they were not legal here. I called a few places to see if there were any exceptions to this and asked why exactly they were not legal to keep. I was told (and this is where it gets funny) that sugar gliders were illegal to keep because there was a law stating no marsupials could be kept and that that law originated during the Depression to keep people from raising opposum as a food source... I guess the "no native animals" law was not enough to stop people from eating opposum so they had to add the "no marsupials" law as well. How stupid is that?

But Laws can change, in March '08 Sugar Gliders became legal in Georgia.

1982

Well...That hasn't stopped anyone lol.

[asplundii]

But Laws can change, in March '08 Sugar Gliders became legal in Georgia.

Yes, partially they did. But it still has to be from a USDA certified breeder. But the point I was making was that the reason for the law was asinine to begin with Not to mention seriously out of date...

[nixer]

Yes, partially they did. But it still has to be from a USDA certified breeder. But the point I was making was that the reason for the law was asinine to begin with Not to mention seriously out of date...

actually im pretty sure you must be usda certified for sugar gliders nation wide.
just like those little import oppossum.

they also have things set in place for rodents and rabbits

[Colin Vestrand]

ASF's are considered to be more aggressive than the native species... and with the way rodents breed - well, you can see why they have the law. they are injurious wildlife... just like cane toads and rabbits seemed harmless in australia or africanized honey bees in the US.

that said, for all you home-bodies, i doubt the dept of agriculture is going to bust your door down and steal your ASF's...

[cardell75]

were asf's banned specifically, or is it more generic: i.e. banning all non-native rodentia(with possible exclusions for guinea pigs etc)

When the law was written they came up with a specific list of animals that were considered "normally domesticated" in the state, therefore were legal for sale in the pet trade. ASF's were non-existant in the state when the law was written, therefore they are excluded and considered as a regulated animal requiring a special wildlife permit from the state. And that quote about sums it up, I personally spoke with Mr. Nims this morning and the list contains the very basic pet store type rodents (Some Hamsters, Gerbils, Guinea pigs, Norway Rats, Domestic Mice, etc...). Perhaps the laws can be updated soon and they will be included in the legal to own list, but I would not hold my breath on that.

[MDB]

wow thats realy stupid

[Clear]

Hedge hogs use to be illegal in Cali untill a 15 y/o girl wanted one and had the ban lifted on them, it only took 3 years to have the ban removed!

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Do they have a reason for the ban?

well, Jerhart answerd it in a nutshell...

Them ASF's are crazy! You see, they are worried a pair will escape from someone, breed, and create a small army which will take over the state of Georgia... ...tragic.

The fear is that they will get out, reproduce, arm themselves, and take over the state of Georgia and hold all of the states people hostage.

If you do a simple web search you will see that Georgia's "exotic pet" rules are on average 10 times longer then every other state. Because of this, I am not surprised.

For any of you frozen / thawed feeders out there, rest assured.... Todd Nims direct quote to me was "four legs up in the air dead are ok with the state of Georgia"

Mike

[snakelady]

I can see the reasoning behind the ban on ASF's. If they did "get out" and establish themselves they could potentially become another nuisance and problem with the local environment.

You have to remember overpopulated rodents can cause lots of damage to crops, historically carry diseases and plagues, are can become a nuisance just about everywhere in cities and on farms alike.

[greghall]

I bet if they did'nt have the word African in their name they would be ok people think of desease & bad stuff in african mammals.they should call them fat fancy mice!!