Exotics ban in Kentucky

[CTReptileRescue]

From Herp Digest:

Exotic Animals Face Ban In Kentucky
By Elizabeth Troutman
Kentucky Post staff reporter 6/30/05

Wanda Wanner never wanted an elephant or rhinoceros for her small
petting zoo in Campbell County.

She was looking to purchase a lemur, a small exotic monkey, for her
51-acre farm before she found out the state was banning private
individuals from owning primates and dozens of other exotic animals.

"It was just a mouth-open reaction when I read some of the things on
there," she said of the list, which was adopted June 14 by a legislative
subcommittee when it amended Title 301 of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife
regulations.

The ban on owning exotic animals will go into effect July 12 unless the
Interim Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee objects.

Wanner's petting zoo has domestic animals - goats, cattle, kittens
among them - but she also owns a water buffalo and was hoping to add the
lemur and perhaps other exotic pets. She thinks some of the more than 60
types of animals on the list are harmless and others - like elephants
and rhinoceroses - are unnecessary to mention.

"It was such random things," she said. "A hit and pick here and there,
it didn't have any research there."

State Sen. @@@@ Roeding, Lakeside Park, co-chairman of the
subcommittee, said the amendment holds the same power as a law once it is passed by
the Interim Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee.

Jim Lane, wildlife program coordinator at the state Department of Fish
and Wildlife, said the initiative intends to protect the health and
welfare of Kentuckians.

"The public health risk was too high not to act," he said. "Private
individuals aren't trained and don't have the proper facilities to own
these pets."

Lane said the Department of Fish and Wildlife started pushing for
statewide regulation of exotic pets in the mid-1990s. A group of concerned
wildlife professionals in the state expressed interest in the initiative
in December and backed Fish and Wildlife in moving a proposal forward.

The state is not interested in collecting exotic animals, so the
amendment includes a grandfather clause that protects pets from being taken
away by the state. Owners may keep exotic animals until they die, but
may not purchase new ones.

April Truitt, director and founder of the Primate Rescue Center in
Nicholasville, testified before the committee that monkeys are only good
pets when they are extremely young.

"The image you have in your mind is an infant," she said of the
Capuchin monkey, the most common pet monkey. "They spend the vast majority of
their lives being unwanted. They are cute and cuddly for a brief period
of time."

The subcommittee also heard testimony supporting the ban from
representatives of the Newport Aquarium, the Louisville Zoo and the Department
of Fish and Wildlife. The motion was approved unanimously.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife defines an exotic animal as a "terrestrial
wildlife species which has never naturally existed in the wild in
Kentucky."

Pam Lyons-Gromen, a husbandry director at Newport Aquarium, said she
receives hundreds of calls every year from owners of exotic animals
wanting to donate reptiles to the aquarium.

"We really got involved because of issues with venomous reptiles," she
said. "It's from a public safety standpoint."

Lyons-Gromen said a handful of upset monkey owners attended the meeting
to object to the amendment.

Dan Evans, director of the Kenton Country Animal Shelter, said Boone
and Kenton counties outlawed exotic pets several years ago. Covington
banned exotic animals in 2003, imposing $250 to $500 fines for those who
violate the ordinance.


PROHIBITED PETS, WILDLIFE
Exotic animals on list of prohibited domestic pets:

Birds — Baya weaver; blackbird; cape sparrow; cowbird, cuckoo (except
native species), European blackbird; Madagascar weaver; monk or Quaker
parakeet; sky lark; weaver finch; mute swan.

Mammals — fieldfare; flying fox or fruit bat; Gambian giant-pouched
rat; jack rabbit; prairie dog; raccoon dog; San Juan rabbit;
slender-tailed meerkat; wild European rabbit.
Inherently dangerous wildlife includes:

Mammals — African buffalo; bear; cheetah; clouded leopard; elephant;
hippopotamus; honey badger; hyenas; lions, jaguars, leopards and tigers;
old world badger; primates; rhinoceros; snow leopard; wolverine.

Reptiles — Gila monsters or beaded lizard; adder or viper; alligator or
caiman; sea snake; venomous rear-fanged species (except for hognose
snake); cobra, mamba or coral snake; crocodile.

(Editor - The bill passed and has became law)
_________________________________________________________________
Rusty

[Python-77]

Hmm, its a very hit or miss list, so am I to understand I cant keep a cobra, but a rattlesnake or lancehead would be fine to keep or are those all inclusive under "adder or viper"

[daniel1983]

I like how they were smart enough to exempt hognose snakes from the rear-fanged venomous catagory.

From the summary....I could not figure out if it was all exotics or just certain ones??

[JamminJonah]

Dang. So much for that pet wolverine. guess I'll have to opt for that adamantium procedure.

[Jeanne]

Thats aweful!

Hmm means if I lived there, I would not have been able to acquire my gambian pouched rats, and my sister should not have her quaker parakeet (commonly sold in pet stores)..


And so much for my life long dream of having an elephant too.....


Thankfully, I dont live there, and I feel for those who have any of those animals listed on thier list of cannot haves.. here we dont have to strict laws, in fact, to my knowledge, you can have big cats here as long as you have a permit for them. I wonder if I can have my elephant then..

[kurgan]

I don't want to sound like I'm stirring up controversy for the sake of it but a lot of this sounds pretty sensible and/or the right thing to do. The title of this thread made me think Kentucky had banned anything more exotice than a guinea pig but I don't think most people would argue that crocodiles make good pets or that keeping elelphants in your garden is a great idea. I'm sure there are totally justifiable issues with some of the animals listed being blacklisted but I'm firmly opposed to any private individual keeping primates (besides their own sprogs that is ), it just isn't on.

[frankykeno]

Somebody ought to outlaw the keeping of teenagers (or at least provide free meds to those like me that have 2 of them and 1 not far behind) LOL.


~~Jo~~

[Shelby]

The one I really do not understand is a quaker parakeet.. one of the finest pet parrots one could own. Great talkers, very intelligent, and playful. Not two weeks ago I was playing with one.

[CTReptileRescue]

The one I really do not understand is a quaker parakeet.. one of the finest pet parrots one could own. Great talkers, very intelligent, and playful. Not two weeks ago I was playing with one.

I'm not much of a bird person, but I know that it is illegal to sell or own one (there is a grandfather law) here in CT. The reason was apperantly we have quite a few that were released and have been thriving well. (again I don't know much about these birds) but they have taken up quite a residence and are taking out some native species of other birds. (I assume through deminishing their food sources (?)) so I know we cannot own them here. I guess there was alott of hoo haa about it.
Rusty

[Strider]

Somebody ought to outlaw the keeping of teenagers (or at least provide free meds to those like me that have 2 of them and 1 not far behind) LOL.


~~Jo~~

You where one once a long time ago and where all not that bad or as bad as we appear.