I saw something come across my feed and have spent time today eyeballing it instead of doing other things I need to do. Recently West Virginia established a dangerous wild animal act and board. Whats the big deal? you ask - certainly thats a reasonable thing? Or why do I care, I dont live there? Ill answer that first - States watch each other. If something gets passed one place, others will try it too. So... whats the big deal about a dangerous animal list? It doesnt affect pets right? Or... it doesnt affect MY pets. Currently the WV list is alarmingly broad - listing *entire orders* of animals - inclusive of common pets like tetras (fish). I dont know enough about the birds listed to comment on them. I have been unable to find an online list of domestic, livestock and alternative livestock for things like clarification if the many breeds of rabbit (rabbits are included in one of the everything orders) are among the exclusions. Gerbils are not specifically excluded from the list, and its unclear on if non-albino rats and mice are either (to cite a couple of common rodent pets). Ferrets - despite over 2000 years of being domesticated are frequently regarded as wild and end up on these lists, and are apparently on this one under the carnivores except for domestic cats and dogs (not exact wording). Back when I was keeping them there were frequent stories of *legally kept* ferrets being confiscated and killed because of ignorance. And of course also on the list there are the ever-present snakes, other reptiles, amphibians, etc that tend to be an easy sell for restriction/banning. I will agree that some of the species listed have been demonstrated to be an issue (zebra mussel for example), but many others have not. I have not seen what, if any, procedure is used/will be used to add things to the list - which gives rise to the question of what basis, what facts have been/will be used? The Board is to meet each year to discuss if other animals should be added to the list. The permit for each animal on the list that someone is allowed to keep is $100 - and I did not see if this was a one-time permit or otherwise. There will be caging requirements where cage is not defined in a way that allows for safe keeping of many of the animals on the list. (Wires or bars which are their definition of cage, are not great for keeping fish, for example.) Here is a link to the WV Dangerous Wild Animal Rule apps.sos.wv.gov/adlaw/csr/readfile.aspx?DocId=25971&Format=PDF#page=1&zoom=auto,-172,798 Look for yourselves, do research. If you have any friends or family in the state, alert them. If you want to help, spread the word, donate to organizations such as USARK. Yes, they are reptile-oriented, but reptiles are often the first being singled out, or are on broad lists such as the WV list. If you enjoy animals in your life, even if its a typical pet like a cat or dog, spread the word, pay attention, and speak up. The language of the whole thing is alarming
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 00:11:06 +0000
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