Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The hearing will be at 0830 Wednesday morning at the state capital. Please see the previous posts below on the forum for background information.

Katrina
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Forwarded from the WV Pet Law Yahoo Group:

WEST VIRGINIA at CRITICAL POINT YOU CAN HELP KILL WV:SB #277 WITH A TOLL FREE PHONE CALL

Ladies and Gentlemen,
West Virginias WV SB 277: "The Animal Regulation/Animal Health Safety Control Act", is to be read on Wednesday, April 7 in the West Virginia House of Delegates in the Committee of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The Chairman of the "Fight to Kill WV SB 277" requests that on: TUESDAY APRIL 6, through WEDNESDAY APRIL 7
8 a.m. to 5p.m. Eastern Time
THAT ALL READING THIS CALL TOLL FREE to the West Virginia Legislature
TO SAY KILL SB 277!!
Call: 1-877-565-3447
Be prepared to give your name, address, city and state. OUT OF STATE callers MUST be counted!!!!

This Bill widely encompasses animal ownership in West Virginia and will attempt to regulate both exotic animals, and domestics. Exotics include such as innocuous pets such as parrots and tropical fish.

SB277 sets the stage in its present version to regulate all domestic animal breeding by requiring that any individual, or group, (including rescues and shelters) be licensed and regulated as a "Pet Shop" to sell or transfer even a single animal.

As a "Pet Shop" a breeder/owner would be heavily regulated by a list including the following and much more:
Permits and fees
Standards of care and caging inspections of records and "facility"

Also mentioned in the Bill, the newly named "Animal Health Safety Control Board", has the power to:
"seize, quarantine or destroy any animal which poses a threat to humans,other animals. wildlife or the States agricultural or forestry industries."
This bill does NOT provide criteria for what constitutes a threat, nor does it give owners an opportunity to defend this determination.
WV SB 277 will NOT protect the citizens, pets and wildlife in West Virginia, and in short, could severely affect animal ownership in nearly all aspects. CALL 1-877-565-3447 TOLL FREE (WV Legislature) TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY. TELL THEM KILL SB277.
Thank You.
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Also,

We need to request a public hearing must be done by WVA residents. Call 304-304-340-3112 (Delegate Beach) and 304-340-3116 (Delegate Stemple) and the clerk at 304-340-3200 to request.

No name, or other info. inquired. Told them the bill sounded bad, and they said, " I'll tell them. " That was the end of the conversation.

Thanks for the help! Rumor has it that the phones are ringing off the hook in opposition to the bill.

Katrina

As far as we can tell, this bill has been tabled for "study" over the summer. It's dead for the year. We'll be watching next year, though, to see if a modified version tries to go through the general assembly again.

It's a bit unpressedented for a bill to go unanmously from one side of the assembly (Senate), and then be killed in COMMITTEE on the other side (House).

Supposedly each Delegate received hundreds of e-mails and phones rang off the hooks the two days before the hearing.

The West Virginia Pet Law groups on www.groups.yahoo.com will remain open so that future bills and other issues can be explored during this year and the next.

Katrina