The letter is below, hopeing this NEVER happens in CA so I will send my letter to the Chicago Alderman. Anyone who wants to use the statistics or variations on this letter, go ahead.
>As an owner of an exotic pet, I would like to say I am appalled by ordinance 7-12-360 (Wild animals prohibited). Using the outbreak of monkeypox to justify banning anything but prairie dogs is a gross abuse of power. Unless you can provide justifiable, scientific reasoning why each and every individual on this list is an immediate threat to human lives, I would request this ordinance be abandoned or modified. The ‘City of Chicago seeks to further protect the health and welfare of the residents of Chicago’ by using misinformation and scare tactics to put a blanket over many harmless exotic pets. Domesticated dogs are a much greater risk (physically and health related) to the people of Chicago than some exotic animals listed in this ordinance.
>In an article entitled “Chicago animal control Swamped: 2 Alderman Fear Office is Understaffed” in the Chicago Sun-Times, March 11, 2003 by Fran Spielman; Andrew Herrmann, your own Executive director of the city's Commission on Animal Care and Control made a notable comment. Nikki Proutsos said, “The long-term answer is not more animal control officers, but responsible ownership.” This is true with every animal kept as a pet. The same article stated that, “Last year, there were 25,007 calls to Chicago's 311 non- emergency number about stray animals, primarily dogs,” “2,718 bites were reported in 2002” and “Some aldermen contend…..there has been an apparent epidemic of dog-mauling cases in recent weeks and months,” due to lack of proper funding. Kenneth Phillips provides this statistic, “There are almost 5 million dog bites per year. About 3,000 per day require medical treatment, and 1,000 of those are seen in hospital emergency rooms. Dog bites cause losses that exceed $1 billion per year,” (1999-2003 Kenneth Morgan Phillips). Domesticated dogs seem to be a much greater threat to Chicago residents than thirteen people contracting monkeypox.
>The CDC web-site lists some of the notable transmittable illnesses humans can contract from dogs, including: bacterium Campylobacter, bacterium Leptospira, rabies (a deadly viral disease), Brucella canis, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Dipylidium (Tapeworm), Giardia, Hookworms, Leishmania, Leptospira, Lyme disease, Q fever, Ringworm, Rockey Mountain Spotted Fever, Toxocara (Roundworm), and Salmonella. The CDC states, “Dogs can carry a variety of germs that can make people sick.” Under reptiles the CDC has only one notable health concern, Salmonella, which the CDC characterizes as, “diarrhea, fever, and stomach pain…..usually go away after 1 week.” Furthermore, the CDC states, “Usually, people get salmonellosis by eating contaminated food, such as chicken or eggs….Dogs, cats, birds (including pet birds), horses, and farm animals can also pass Salmonella in their feces.” That is seventeen significant illnesses that dogs pass to humans and only one mild illness the CDC notes that infects humans from ALL SPECIES of snakes, lizards and turtles.
>It is the responsibility of a human owner to take care of whatever animal or insect species they possess. Regular veterinary checkups and behavioral monitoring make dogs, cats, horses, pet birds and fish a safe experience for the owner and their neighbors. These, and only these requirements, are what Chicago needs to ask of most exotic pet owners.
>I request information from this office on statistics for each and every animal in the ordinance. The requested information includes the number of people bitten by each animal when kept as pets in the United States and Chicago and the number of people that have contracted an illness, and what illness, by each animal when kept as pets in the United States and Chicago. I assume this information is readily at hand since these statistics are necessary for the justification of this ordinance.
Thank you,
Name
Address
Phone Number
>>Alderman Edward M. Burke, 14th Ward Alderman Shirley A. Coleman, 16th Ward
>>
>>This is the person sponsoring the ordinance:
>>Alderman: Edward M. Burke Ward Office: 2650 W. 51st Street
>>Chicago, IL 60632 Ward Phone: 773-471-1414 E-Mail: eburke@cityofchicago.org City Hall Office: 121 N. Lasalle St.
>>Room 302
>>Chicago, IL 60602 City Hall Phone: 312-744-3380
