All reptiles except venomous snakes and Komodo (sp?) dragons were removed last December in the Rules Committee session. The last two were removed by a House amendment during the regular session.
We still can't fully celebrate yet though! The Dangerous Wild Animals Board remains intact and by statute it has to meet every year, review the list, recommend animals to add or remove, publish the revised list by July 1 for public comment, etc. During the final vote on the list a lot of the legislators (mainly Senators) were rather upset when the minimal list finally made it to that chamber. It was obvious during the discussion that many of them hadn't reviewed the list to be voted on, several wanted to amend it to put venomous snakes and large constrictors back onto it (which was fortunately shot down), etc. FWIW we know who they are and they will be targeted for replacement during the upcoming elections.
So the battle on this isn't over yet, and we in WV need to closely watch the DWA meeting agenda and outcome each year.
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