Posted by:
EricWI
at Wed Mar 17 14:57:54 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by EricWI ]
Old Lyme - The lengthy list of exotic animals the state is considering banning as pets includes several that should be allowed and are not necessarily dangerous, exotic pet owners said Tuesday at a state Department of Environmental Protection forum on draft regulations that would make the import and private ownership of many types of wild animals illegal.
Among the exotic pets cited by attendees as not necessarily dangerous were wallabies, some types of pythons and some but not all types of anaconda.
The DEP will use the comments from this forum and two others to revise the proposed rules before a final version is submitted to the state legislature for consideration, Rick Jacobs, acting director of the DEP's Wildlife Division, told the 20 people in attendance.
The rules were written after the highly publicized attack by a pet chimpanzee on a woman in Stamford highlighted the need to clarify and tighten state laws regarding possession of wild animals considered dangerous to humans, native wildlife and agriculture. Possession of chimpanzees and other primates was banned last year, joining wild dogs, bears and wild felines.
The new list of animals that would be banned includes: wild boar and warthog; hippopotamus; alligators; several types of poisonous snakes; Gila monsters; Komodo dragons and crocodile monitors, among many others. Exceptions would be made for licensed animal exhibitors, zoos, nature centers and other professional animal handlers.
One speaker, who identified himself only as Jonathan from West Hartford, said some of the animals on the list, such as the reticulated python "are far less dangerous than animals considered domestic."
Because it was a forum and not a public hearing, the DEP did not require speakers to give their full names.
"It is a large snake, and it can be dangerous to people, but no more than your neighbor's dog," the West Hartford man said. "There are lots of people who own some of the reptiles on this list."
Allison Sloane of Deep River took issue with banning all the types of pythons and anacondas on the list.
"I've owned several, and if handled correctly" they are good pets, she said. Her yellow anaconda, for example, curls up next to her as she watches television, she said. She added that she has taken in and cared for several reptiles others acquired as pets and were unable to care for.
Several speakers suggested current owners of animals that would be banned should able to legally keep them with a grandfather clause, but Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals in Darien, disagreed. She called on the DEP to evaluate the living conditions of some of these animals before they are given permission to keep them.
The DEP will receive written comments through March 31 at: jenny.dickson@ct.gov. For information, visit: www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?Q=456710&;A=3847
www.theday.com/article/20100317/NWS01/303179892/1019&town
j.benson@theday.com
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 CT- Some exotic animals have defenders - EricWI, Wed Mar 17 14:57:54 2010
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