The City of Wilmington moved one step closer to restricting exotic animals in the city after nearly an hour of discussion from community members and animal experts.



The new exotic animal ordinance is essentially based on Dayton’s law, which its city commission adopted in fall 2004. Part of the reason Wilmington officials want to enact a new, more restrictive law is to better protect firefighters and other first responders to a scene. The number and type of exotic animals that were formerly being kept at a Wayne Road residence gave city officials pause this summer, leading to the effort to write new legislation.



That resident, Kenny Wiederhold, addressed council, saying that he did the responsible thing by obtaining a permit for his animals, and he has a notice posted on his door in the event emergency personnel respond to his residence so they will know what is inside.



According to his permit Widerhold, who now lives on U.S. Route 68 south, has three ball pythons, a carpet python, four corn snakes, three black rat snakes, a Savannah monitor, a Nile monitor, a tegu, two emperor scorpions and a Boa constrictor.



“I don’t think there should be an outright ban on all of them,” Wiederhold said.



Tim Harrison, an officer with the Oakwood Police Department as well as a firefighter, addressed council on the multiple incidents to which he has responded involving exotic animals. Harrison said he is, “not an animal expert. I’m just an expert on catching them.”



Harrison said he has responded to cities after natural disasters, including Galveston, Texas after Hurricane Katrina, to help catch various reptiles, primates, lions and tigers that escaped during storms and posed a threat to public safety.



Harrison showed video and audio clips, as well as newspaper articles from multiples states in which a person has been killed or injured due to an exotic pet. In some cases the victim was the animal’s owner, and in other cases the victim was injured after the animal escaped or was turned loose.



“People say, ‘The animal turned on me.’ No, the animal turned natural,” Harrison said.



He also likened certain exotic animals to loaded weapons. “You wouldn’t let an 8-year-old play with a gun,” he said. “I’m here to protect children, protect public safety officers, and the animals themselves … You need to protect, or at least educate, people.”



As a police officer and a firefighter, Harrison spoke on the dangers of having such an animal in a house during an emergency situation when personnel are trying to respond.



“You don’t want firefighters to have to go into a house full of vipers,” Harrison said.



Several members of the Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society addressed council, saying they did not want to see “a blanket ban” on all exotic animals due to “fear or lack of education.



Matt Fille, of the society, said whereas Harrison was not an animal expert, the society could provide information and education “on the animals themselves.”



Fille said pet owners who are responsible enough to obtain a permit are responsible enough to properly care for the animal and keep it in a cage, and “they should be in cages if they are not in the wild.”



Cincinnati area 911 dispatchers, the Cincinnati Zoo and area Humane Societies all have the phone numbers of society members to assist in an emergency situation if an exotic animal is involved, Fille said.



Chris Bower, society vice president, gave council information on various reptiles that are banned across the United States, and stated the society held the position that venomous animals should be banned in such an ordinance.



Council member Rob Jaehnig, chair of the safety committee which is investigating the exotic animal issue, asked the group how the city could determine which animal would be safe, and which animal would not be safe upon the issuance of a permit, noting the city did not have an animal expert on staff and could not afford one. He also questioned the feasibility of issuing a permit based on what the owners tell city officials, as it is not safe or likely to have exotic animals brought to the mayor’s office for inspection.



The society said they would volunteer members free of charge to assist the city in identifying animals in such cases. Additionally, even if the ordinance is passed, the society said they could be contaced in the event law enforcement or other city officials have a situation where they must deal with an animal.



“Whether or not it’s legal - and I am not condoning it - people are going to break the law,” and have exotic pets, said society officer Brittany Fille.



Other questions posed during the session included if it violated the proposed ordinance to regularly feed wild birds and deer, and if an area resident who had a business of breeding and selling exotic birds would be affected.



Council members Cindy Peterson and Don Wells said there was a lot of information to digest from the meeting and voted against hearing the second reading of the resolution, but were outvoted 5-2. Jaehnig said he would hold another safety committee meeting as soon as possible to discuss the ordinance, prior to the third and final reading of the ordinance.

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