Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've heard that HB 339 (not 336) will be voted upon this week in the House of Delegates. People need to call and e-mail their delegates NOW. Please be polite and as professional as
possible when calling delegates and senators. Go here to find and contact your delegate(s) or senator: http://mdelect.net/

Also, for those that are not used to reading bills, in Maryland, anything in brackets [ ] is removed from an old law, and anything capitalized is added to the old law.

There will be a hearing on SB 296, which has the same wording as HB 339, on March 15th at 1:00 PM in Annapolis. A group is gearing up to testify at this hearing. Please attend if you can, as the more people, the better, even if you only attend to raise your hand in opposition of the bill.

Katrina

FYI, the bill takes out part of the wording of the old law that allows someone to keep an animal if they have state or federal permits, and now requires someone to have a USDA permit under the Animal Welfare Act or to have AZA accreditation. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A USDA PERMIT FOR REPTILES, as the USDA
does not consern itself with reptiles for the most part, and smaller facilities that specilize in only reptiles and do education - and might be quite good - might not want to go through the process of the AZA. It seems like a small thing, but some facilities use crocodilians (including caimens) and venomous animals in educaitonal settings. Under this bill, even a group bringing in an alligator or caimen for display would be illegal unless they have a permit under the AWA.