Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Don't know yet what will be in it but Ohio is proposing another new exotic ban today......

COLUMBUS, Ohio --
An Ohio lawmaker plans Thursday to introduce a proposal to ban new ownership of exotic animals in the state.

State Sen. Troy Balderson's office says the measure would also prohibit people from acquiring additional dangerous wildlife. Zoos, circuses, sanctuaries and research facilities would be exempt.

Owners of lions, tigers and other large animals would be banned in 2014 from keeping the creatures unless they met strict care standards.

Efforts to strengthen Ohio law took on new urgency in October when authorities were forced to kill 48 wild animals - including endangered Bengal tigers - after their suicidal owner freed them from his Zanesville farm.

Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna had criticized state lawmakers last month for not yet passing new regulations.

A hearing on the bill is planned for Tuesday.

the chillicothe gazette had an article about the bill. keep in mind that no OFFICIAL info has been released, and there are some UNVERIFIED "drafts" floating around. these drafts may or may not be representative of the final draft of the bill so we won't know for sure until it's officially released.

*IF* the chillicothe article is accurate about the ZAA standards, here they are:

"(q) Reptiles and amphibians
1. Reptiles
a. Snakes and glass lizards
In addition to requirements of this section, each enclosure shall be provided with an environment or devices that allow for temperature regulation necessary to insure the well-being of the species. The environment or devices shall be non-injurious, and may include, but are not limited to hot rocks, artificial lights, natural sunlight and heat strips. Each enclosure shall be provided with a non-injurious substrate such as newspaper, processed wood shavings, rocks, sand or indoor-outdoor carpet. Such substrate shall be disposed of or sanitized at intervals sufficient to insure the health of the animal(s).

Enclosure sizes for all snakes and glass lizards shall be based upon the length of the longest specimen in the enclosure.

For up to two specimens, a cage or enclosure having a perimeter equal to the length of the longest specimen, the width of the cage shall not be less than 20 percent of the length of the longest specimen. The width of the enclosure shall not be required to exceed 3 feet. For each additional specimen, increase perimeter by 10 percent."

not bad, really. most of us already fall in line with these standards.

what concerns me is the permit costs/process and the liability insurance requirement. i already have liability insurance through my renter's insurance, but it may or may not be enough. adding more to it would be costly.

and how bad will it suck to try to sell to new herpers who would now not only have to buy the animals care supplies AND get a permit? that will hurt small business!
Chillicothe Gazette Article

here's the bill... it does NOT look good.

these are the snakes that are included:

(K) "Restricted snake" means any of the following:

(1) All of the following constricting snakes:

(a) Green anacondas;

(b) Yellow anacondas;

(c) Reticulated pythons;

(d) Indian pythons;

(e) Burmese pythons;

(f) North African rock pythons;

(g) South African rock pythons;

(h) Amethystine pythons;

(i) Boa constrictors.

(2) Species of the following families:

(a) Atractaspididae;

(b) Elapidae;

(c) Viperidae.

(3) Boomslang snakes;

(4) Twig snakes;

(5) Any other snakes designated by the director in rules.
SB310

because its so universal and includes so much, my gut theyre gonna have to take a razor to the proposal and start cutting some animals out. Retics, Boas are too big a franchise, amesthyne's are skinny long snakes, i imported them in the past and they are sweet, just a bit fast is all. anyway, something will happen but id be surprised that it includes that whole list. im surprised the leopard gecko wasnt on it, cause you know...they can start a tractor and drive off and slam into a school bus or something....

I would like to know what the proposed Bill looked like before
Jack Hanna opened his big mouth ?

This is ridiculous they've disregarded everything USARK has contributed to the process.

. . . Lar M
-----
Boas By Klevitz

I Support USark.org

I understand the knee jerk reaction to what happened there but now they are taking it to the next extreme. Why cant these people be sensible. Lions, Tigers and top of the food chain type things should be monitored/licensed/regulated. but a pet snake??? what is an anaconda going to squat the ohio river....PLEAASSE!!!!!!!

where did common sense and logic go? They are definitely including animals that are safe, enjoyed by many and make industry and bring commerce to Ohio in a desperate way to over compensate for letting a maniac own animals. I think there laws should be directed towards banning maniacal people with histories of bi-polar behavior and not punishing normal responsible owners over actions not their own.....

check out the herp law forum here for a detailed summary in plain english...
Part 1 of Summary