CASPER JOURNAL (Wyoming) 13 June 06 Ordinance requires permit for exotic pets (Carol Crump)
Would-be snake charmers living in Casper are going to have a tougher time latching onto a python.
A new revision to the City’s animal ordinances makes owning a long list of wild animals illegal without a permit from Metro Animal Control.
Limiting ownership of exotic pets within the city and county, including the requirement for a permit, isn’t a new concept. According to Metro’s Director Rick Sulzen, amending the list of what is considered a wild or exotic animal was done for safety.
“Metro wants to know where these (exotic animals) are so we can provide emergency care,” he said.
Among the wild animals prohibited are monkeys, raccoons, skunks, foxes, wolves or wolf hybrids, coyotes, leopard, lions, panthers and lynx. All venomous snakes or reptiles, boas and pythons, crocodilians and monitor lizards over three feet in length also are included.
Smaller creatures that require a permit are amphibians in the cane toad or dart frogs families, seven families of spiders, seven families of scorpions and all centipedes. A catch-all category adds “any other animal that can normally be found in the wild state.”
Violators of the ordinance are subject to a fine.
Exceptions to the ownership rules are made for small cage birds, aquarium fish and small rodents such as hamsters, gerbils and guinea pigs. Zoos, circuses and educational institutions still can own exotic or wild animals legally.
City of Casper-Natrona County Health Department Director Bob Harrington said the safety concern is warranted. The animals on the list may show all descriptions of physical aggressiveness, and there’s danger of toxicity from such diseases as salmonella from all forms of amphibians. The health department does not store a full range of antivenins for snakes, spiders and scorpions.
“This was a consensus document we all worked on together: Metro, the State Agriculture Department, Game and Fish and the health department,” Harrington said.
The revised ordinance will be in effect immediately. For information on the ordinance, call 235-8398.
Ordinance requires permit for exotic pets