Campbell to weigh exotic pet law
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By Luke E. Saladin
Post staff reporter
If you need a new home for your pet lion or poisonous snake, you may want to look past Campbell County.
Following the lead of several other governments in Northern Kentucky, Campbell County is set to consider an ordinance that would make owning an exotic or dangerous animal in the county a crime punishable for up to 90 days in jail and/or a $250 fine.
Campbell County Administrator Robert Horine said there doesn't appear to be any immediate threat from dangerous or exotic animals in the county, although occasionally he does receive phone calls from people who own such animals and who are looking to relocate from a place that has already passed such an ordinance.
"I seem to recall one particular person had a wide array of various reptiles and poisonous snakes," Horine said. "I think most people figure the county is too urban for anything like that, but we always told people who asked that the county was working on drafting legislation to address ownership of these animals."
The court is expected to vote on the ordinance Nov. 17.
Among the list of banned animals are bears, hyenas, tigers, coyotes, foxes, kangaroos, gorillas, squirrels, coral snakes and cobras.
Boone and Kenton counties already have laws in place banning wild, exotic and dangerous animals, unless they are authorized by state or federal agencies.
Other cities, including Newport, Covington and Bellevue, also have similar ordinances.
Erlanger, Elsmere, Fort Thomas and Cincinnati, also ban pit bull terriers.
Fort Thomas City Administrator Jeff Earlywine said many of the complaints he receives concerning animals stem from residents troubled by the number of deer on the roads.
"We've never really had a problem with dangerous animals that people keep as pets," Earlywine said. "I don't see the ordinance really having that big of an effect on us."
"The whole purpose of this is to keep people from being hurt," said Josh Wice, a Campbell County administrative staff member who helped draft the ordinance. "This is following a trend that has been going on for a long time in Northern Kentucky."
