Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Albuquerque is proposing a new city animal ordinance. You can read it here, all 60 some-odd pages of it:

http://daystar2.cabq.gov:81/attachments/3174.doc

This ordinance looks invasive all around, not just for reptiles. If you keep any animal in your household, and you don't want your city or county to adopt a similar ordinance, please write to the Albuqureque city council and let them know your thoughts on this ordinance.

The proposed ordinance calls anything not a dog, cat, or rabbit an "exotic" and requires a $35 ANNUAL permit for anything not a dog, cat, or rabbit. That means $35 for my iguana, $35 for my bearded dragon, $35 for each of my three household pet turtles and likely $35 for each foster animal I take in. There are also some pretty silly requirements, such as submitting a letter to the mayor every time one wants to transport an "exotic". So the mayor needs to know when my iguana goes for her annual check-up?

The AR is looking at this ordinance as a template for more cities. If it gets passed here, it will get passed elsewhere.

I spoke with Martin Heinrich's aide today, and Mr. Heinrich is interested in hearing from the public.
Sally Mayer is the sponsor. You can contact them and other council members at:

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1293 , 9 th Floor - Room 9087, Albuquerque, NM 87103 .

Telephone Number: (505) 768-3100, Fax Number: (505) 768-3227

Email Addresses:

Miguel A. Gómez, Council District 1 - mgomez @ cabq.gov
Debbie O'Malley, Council District 2 - domalley @ cabq.gov
Eric Griego, Council District 3 - egriego @ cabq.gov
Brad Winter, Council District 4 - bwinter @ cabq.gov
Michael J. Cadigan, Council District 5 - mcadigan @ cabq.gov
Martin Heinrich, Council District 6 - mheinrich @ cabq.gov
Sally Mayer, Council District 7 - smayer @ cabq.gov
Craig Loy, Council District 8 - cloy @ cabq.gov
Tina L. Cummins, Council District 9 - tcummins @ cabq.gov

Katrina

I looked a little closer at the definitions, and it looks like a pastel slider is a domestic animal, but a common slider is a wild animal. (And I'm guessing that they ment PHYSIOLOGY?)

I'm guessing that the LTC box turtle or tortoise that someone has had for 20 years will be considered wild, though.

Katrina

COMPANION ANIMAL. A dog or cat that is not a Hybrid.

EXOTIC OR WILD ANIMALS. Any Animal which is not a Domestic Animal, Companion Animal or Companion Bird.

DOMESTIC ANIMAL. Any Animal whose psychology has been determined or manipulated through selective breeding and which does not occur naturally in the wild and includes but is not limited to ferrets, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, horses, mice, rabbits, donkeys, rats and kangaroo rats. All Companion Animals are Domestic Animals but all Domestic Animals are not Companion Animals.

COMPANION BIRD. A bird commonly kept as a pet by humans and confined on the property of the Owner including but not limited to parakeets, canaries, lovebirds, finches, parrots, and macaws. cockatoos, cockatiels, toucans and lories, but excluding:

(1) all of the family Anatidae (waterfowl;

(2) all of the family Tetraonidae (grouse and ptarmigans);

(3) all of the family Phasianidae (quail, partridges and pheasants);

(4) all of the family Meleagridae (wild turkeys) except for the domestic strains of turkeys;

(5) all of the family Perdicidae (francolins);
(6) all of the family Gruidae (cranes);
(7) all of the family Rallidae (rails, coots and gallinules);
(8) all of the family Charadriidae (plovers, turnstones and surfbirds);
(9) all of the family Scolopacidae (shorebirds, snipe, sandpipers and curlews);
(10) all of the family Recurvirostridae (avocets and stilts);
(11) all of the family Phalaropodidae (phalaropes); and
(12) all of the family Columbidae (wild pigeons and doves) except for the domestic strains of pigeons.

This one looks like a bunch of Government elitists trying to get some quick bucks of reptile owners.

More likely a well-intending but foolish city council member who might be leaning to the animal rights side.

Most council members in most locations don't realize that pet reptiles are 1) often not considered "domesticated" and are not always captive bred, 2) that so many people have them, 3), that they live for decades, and 4) that reptiles aren't all giant pythons and the owners aren't all tatooed biker stereotypes (not that there's anything wrong with tatooed
bikers, just the stereotype).

everyplace else that tried to make a person buy an " exotic " permit for a hermit crab ! How will this effect pet stores and wholesalers ? How will this effect that herp show they have there ? Was there mentioning or dialog on tropical fish and particular some of the salt water fish. They tried this numerous times in and around the KC area and Overland Park Kan. and it never went through because of constant changes of the above. AND when some of the laws or restrictions did make it to passing, guess what ! It was soon forgotten. BUT it WAS on the books. OF course if there is ample time and notice of such proposals, it's better to nip it before going very far. Ho hum on this deal as to that's about all we hear about anymore but I absolutely find it extremely funny that the general public at large will never get or know these laws or that they could be breaking a law. It seems only us hobbyist gets the news and we get bent out of shape about it . If you don't believe me, walk or drive around a couple of blocks in any major city that has the pit bull ordinance on books and see how many massive numbers you still see in that city. Or better yet, do the same and see how many of those pit bull law breakers are calling their dogs mixes and think they are legal. It is a fact that only 1 in hundreds pit bull owners gets in trouble and that number is at hundreds and hundreds of pits or mixes in the KC metro area. I guess my signature below fits me huh.
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I may be old , cantankerous, crabby, and cynical, but......

There is a local group that is working to defeat this. Please do not send further opposition emails.