NEWS & OBSERVER (Raleigh, N Carolina) 05 May 08 Reptile owners back safety measures (Samuel Spies)
Raliegh: As hundreds of reptile and exotic animal lovers browsed tables stacked with pythons, boas, lizards and other critters, the president of a group formed to fight including reptiles in a ban on dangerous animal ownership said he was preparing to take his group national.
Andrew Wyatt, president of the N.C. Association of Reptile Keepers, said Sunday that a national association had incorporated Thursday to promote responsible ownership of reptiles. At the Carolina Reptile and Exotic Animal Show at the State Fairgrounds, NCARK had a booth under a banner urging attendees to "Join us and help protect your rights."
NCARK was formed in the wake of a bill introduced at the General Assembly in 2005 that would have sharply restricted the ability of private owners to keep non-indigenous venomous snakes and large constrictors. That bill was routed to a study committee that became a battleground between animal rights activists and other groups who wanted to see a statewide ban on a broad range of animals deemed dangerous, and hobbyists, owners of small private zoos and others who said a broad prohibition wasn't necessary.
Before the study committee filed its report, a ban bill sponsored by the Animal Protection Institute of Sacramento, Calif., was introduced to the General Assembly in 2006. But most of the language related to reptiles was removed from that bill before it eventually died in committee last year and is absent from proposed legislation that is being reviewed by a second study committee.
That has reptile hobbyists breathing a little easier, Wyatt said.
Currently, the second study committee is looking at a far different version of the bill on inherently dangerous wild animals that has evolved from a statewide ban on a broad range of animals into a measure that would require counties to regulate and restrict ownership of wolves, large cats, hyenas and bears.
The ban movement can be traced to the 2003 mauling death of a Wilkes County boy, killed by a tiger kept at his aunt's home. The Animal Protection Institute, a California-based animal rights group, has been active in North Carolina to get a ban passed.
Wyatt said he expects additional legislation based on his group's proposals for reptile ownership requirements to be introduced in the 2009 session. NCARK supports requiring owners of certain reptiles such as large constrictors or crocodilians to have locking cages and written recapture plans and to follow other safety and husbandry standards. It's those standards that Wyatt plans to promote nationally with USARK, he said.
"A well-caged animal is not a dangerous animal," said Wyatt, who lives in the Currituck County town of Coinjock.
Wyatt said the original ban would have applied to 80 percent of the animals at this weekend's exotic pet show. Most vendors were selling reptiles and a few amphibians, though the show also featured parrot demonstrations and elephant rides.
Eric Williams, of Buffalo, N.Y, said regulations about reptiles vary widely between states and localities. Williams, who works for reptile retailer Reptile Addicts, said the company is allowed to keep, but not sell, certain snakes in New York but can sell them out of state.
"It's pretty insane," he said. "I don't see a reason for that much regulation."
Reptile owners back safety measures

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