STAR-TRIBUNE (Casper, Wyoming) 06 May 06 Proposed pet laws confuse owners (John Morgan)
Some owners and dealers of wild and exotic pets in Casper are concerned about a new ordinance working its way through the city council.
Rick Sulzen, manager of the Metro Animal Control and Welfare office, has been pushing to tighten the rules on which exotic animals people can own, adding coyotes, poisonous amphibians, venomous reptiles, crocodilians and venomous insects to the current list of wild and exotic animals.
Many people have expressed confusion over the new wording and its interpretation. While the current code prohibits poisonous snakes, the proposed code changes it to venomous snakes. Venom by definition is poisonous. Venomous insects have been added to the new list, but would supposedly not include spiders, which are arachnids, not insects.
"A lot of the wording is a matter of interpretation," said Ron Keck, owner of R&R Pet Barn in the Eastridge Mall. "Under the current wording, bees are going to be illegal. That's just sad."
Venomous snakes, reptiles, spiders and scorpions often use their venom to subdue prey, though their poison is not always harmful to humans.
Renee Funderburk, executive director of The Science Zone, worried that her facility's two tarantula spiders may be included on the "no" list.
"Tarantulas are technically venomous, though their venom is harmless to most humans," Funderburk said. "Some people have an allergic reaction to them, like some people are allergic to bee stings. But our tarantulas do not come out for the kids to handle. If they get frightened, they will bite."
Keck said that poison dart frogs, which would fall under the venomous reptile category, are only poisonous in their natural habitat because of the insects they eat and are not poisonous in captivity.
Since the Pet Barn is the only store in town that sells exotic pets, Keck feels this ordinance specifically targets his business.
"I knew sooner or later the city would try to pass this," he said. "I don't sell enough exotic pets for it to make a difference. If the city bans them, I'll just stop stocking them."
Keck said most of his business is in birds, turtles and fish, though he also sells crocodiles, poison dart frogs, alligators and scorpions.
He said he won't sell a pet to a child unless their parents are present at the time of the sale.
"We inform pet owners about what they're getting into," he said. "We also encourage people to do some research on their own. The Internet is full of information."
Sulzen was unavailable this week, but he has said in the past that the new rules are intended to clamp down on people who buy exotic pets, get tired of them or can no longer care for them and release them into the wild.
Keck and Funderburk both agree that Wyoming can be a harsh environment for non-native species, whether kept as a pet or released into the wild.
"Unless you really know what you're doing, most non-native pets won't last long in this climate," Keck said. "Wyoming nature and climate kills most exotic pets within five years. When you put an alligator in a tank, you are cutting its life expectancy in half."
"Most exotic animals will not be OK living in Wyoming," Funderburk said. "We discourage people from getting exotic pets. Most of our animals are donated, including three sugar gliders we got in the last 90 days. Everybody wants to have a pet, but dogs and cats don't work for everyone."
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2006/05/06/news/casper/2f80130771b8327c87257165007b5910.txt
