LACROSSE TRIBUNE (Wisconsin) 18 June 04 County tables exotic pet law (Joan Kent)

Jennifer Dahl of La Crosse will be able to have other exotic animals to accompany her Columbian boa constrictor and Savannah monitor (a lizard) now that the La Crosse County Board on Thursday tabled a proposed wild and exotic animal ordinance.

"I am overly thrilled. I could not be happier," Dahl said after the vote and Board Chairman Steve Doyle's explanation that a tabling at the county board effectively kills a proposal. Tabled items can be brought off the table and considered at a later meeting, but Doyle said that usually is not done by the board.

"I would not have been able to buy any more exotic animals, or if my female produces, I would not have been able to keep her young," Dahl said of the proposed ordinance that would have banned exotic animals. It had been amended to include a grandfather clause that would have allowed people who currently own animals restricted by the ordinance to keep them, as long as they registered them with the county Health Department.

County board committees have been considering since March the proposed wild and exotic animal ordinance, introduced by Supervisor Sharon Hampson of La Crosse. Opponents, including members of the newly formed Coulee Region Herpetological Society, argued that no danger has been reported to warrant the ban.

"I appreciate what the health and services committee is trying to do," said Eric Severson of La Crosse, society member who owns six snakes. "But it needs to be more focused, not so broad-brushed. This was overly restrictive, unenforceable and unnecessary."

The ordinance would address public health and safety concerns, Hampson said. Several diseases are transferred from animals to humans, and the United States only loosely regulates the exotic animals trade, she said. Some states ban large cats and large snakes, she said. In addition, Hampson said many exotic animals end up in poor condition and have a high mortality rate, and some end up dumped on roadsides because there are not enough sanctuaries for them.

Dave Geske, county vector control and humane services manager, suggested amendments including permitting exotic animals including ostriches, which are used in agriculture. A effort to refer the proposal back to committee to consider those amendments failed.

"They do not have enough votes," said board member Charles Spiker of Holmen, predicting the proposal would be so watered down by amendments in order to pass that it would be meaningless.

The proposal is unenforceable and unfair, said board member Jim Berns of Onalaska. Most of the problems are with wild-caught animals, and the ordinance does not differentiate between them and captive-bred animals, he said.

The vote to table was 23-12.
County tables exotic pet law

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