Terry Wilkins, whose parents own Captive Born Reptiles stores on Morse and Refugee roads, holds an example of a not-so-typical potential house pet: a 6-month-old alligator named Izzy.

House pets?

Columbus Public Health is considering stricter requirements for people who sell and own animals other than typical house pets.

SOME OF THE ANIMALS FOR WHICH A PERMIT WOULD BE REQUIRED:

Alligator, alpaca, beaver, bison, boa with the potential to exceed 12 feet, camel, caribou, cattle, coyote, crocodile, deer, donkey, domestic fowl (including chickens), elk, fox, goat, horse, jackal, llama, moose, mule, opossum, ox, pig, pony, porcupine, raccoon, reindeer, sheep, skunk, wallaby, water buffalo, wolf

EXEMPT ANIMALS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

House cat, chinchilla, cockatoo, dog, fish, gerbil, hamster, hedgehog, mouse, parrot

PROHIBITED ANIMALS INCLUDE:

Bear, cougar, elephant, giraffe, hyena, kangaroo, Komodo dragon, leopard, lion, monkey, tiger

Source: Columbus Public Health

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Columbus residents who enjoy the company of gators, boas, wallabies and other less-than-traditional pets might soon face stricter oversight from the city. The Board of Health will consider a proposal that more explicitly details what animals the city wants to oversee, then would require permits for those animals and for the stores that sell them.

Details are being worked out, including the cost of the permits, which would be less than $100, city officials said this week.

City rules already call for permits for some of these kinds of pets, but the rules are vague and not strongly enforced, said Roger Cloern, assistant health commissioner. This is an attempt to provide clarity to the public and pet-store owners and more closely monitor the animals in Columbus, he said.

Only about 50 pet owners have permits, and those were prompted by resident complaints, said Columbus Public Health spokesman Jose Rodriguez.

Some unusual pets are becoming more popular, including backyard chickens, he said. In the past two years, the city has had 127 complaints about chickens and other fowl.

One concern about some pets is the potential for illness transmission, said Dr. Aaron K. Messer, the city's public-health veterinarian.

About 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases originate with animals, he said. In 2003, two Ohioans were sickened with a disease called monkeypox, which was believed to have come from a wallaby and a prairie dog.

Columbus Public Health officials are eager to hear from pet owners and others before the board votes this summer, Rodriguez said.

The department has reviewed similar regulations in other cities, including Cleveland, Albuquerque, N.M., and Portland, Ore.

At this week's city Board of Health meeting, Terry Wilkins, owner of Captive Born Reptiles, questioned the Columbus proposal. He has stores on Morse and Refugee roads and sells alligators, large snakes and other pets.

The pets he sells have not caused injuries or deaths, Wilkins said. He worries about harassment of pet owners and is upset that the business community was "deliberately kept in the dark" about the effort, he said.

Christopher Eaken, who also spoke to the board, said the proposal would be hard to enforce and that the city would be better off spending time and money on other things.

Pet owners would have to apply for an annual permit, which would be issued by the city on a case-by-case basis through a process that could include a home visit to make sure the owner has appropriate accommodations for the pet, Cloern said. If an animal is to be kept outside, neighbors would be surveyed, Rodriguez said.

The pet-store owners who sell the affected pets would be responsible for making sure customers have the required permits before taking the pet home. Only a handful of pet shops in the city would needs the permits, he said.

Department officials hope that people who already have pets that require a permit - and those who buy pets outside the city - would seek permits as well, they said. If those pets come to the attention of Columbus Public Health, the staff would approach the owners about getting a permit, Cloern said.

mcrane@dispatch.com

www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/04/23/copy/permit-or-not.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

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