Chicago is currently pushing a city wide ordinance to ban reptiles, birds, bats certain cats, wolves, hybrids and the list goes on. But don’t stop reading now because you think this doesn’t affect you because you don’t live in Chicago. What they are pushing is the exact same ordinance passed a while back in NYC verbatim. They only thing they have changed is the references made to NYC, they simply cut out NYC and added Chicago. I spoke to the women today who rewrote the ordinance and asked her why they were pushing this. Now this lady is a lawyer supposedly educated, her response to me was “because my boss thinks it’s a good idea”. From there I asked her why it’s a good idea “well for one I think reptiles can make people sick……..oh and they can be dangerous as well”. I asked her what reptiles can make people sick with? “I don’t know people get sick from handling them” Those were her responses verbatim, she “thinks” reptiles can make people sick? Come on these people don’t have a clue! WE HAVE TO STOP THIS NOW!!!!!! We all cant allow this to go on any further. I don’t care if you own one or 1000 reptiles it will effect you. This is the PERFECT example of how laws get passed in one place plagiarized and passed in another. Anyone who breeds reptiles, sells supplies, feeders anything at all reptile related this will affect you. Chicago is a giant market, between the city and the suburbs that this is sure to spill over into theres 7-11million people that can and will be affected locally every single person who ships reptile/critters or supplies into the area that will lose that market. Chicago is simply one of the largest cities in the US and if they can push this there its going to be a breeze anywhere else. I know someone is going to come along and say something about how they passed it in NYC but its unenforceable because the way it was written. Well I tell you this the hard part is getting it passed from there revising it and making it enforceable isnt that difficult. Its easier to stop it now then it is to get something reasonable added once its passed. I have someone tonight who is scanning the ordinance for me and tomorrow I will post the whole thing as it stands once I find a place to put it. How ever for tonight I will type the section concerning reptiles word for word and also post the contact info for the lady who written it and the Alderman sponsoring it. So please contact these people and tell them this ordinance sucks!!!! Call and write them letters, they will put more priority on then emails but I will post them to. At the very least if you live in Deerfield PA or some other place, please email them and let them know this isn’t right. If ya can call and write them letters and get everyone you can to as well. Also as soon as I have it I will post the address and info for the hearing concerning this and I beg everyone that can to show up, Ill be there and I am driving 5hrs. They are trying to push this through the “Police and Fire” committee. What do the Police and fire committee have to do with reptiles you ask? NOTHING! Sending it through a committee such as that us a sneaky way of getting it passed. The people there will know little to nothing about this issue and probably wont care so they’ll all vote one way so they can get on with business to something they care about. Anyway heres the contact info and section about reptiles as they stand. PLEASE DO SOMETHING!!!!!
Contact
This Ordinance is being sponsored by
Alderman Edward Burke
2650 W 51st st
Chicago Il 60632
773-471-1414
312-744-3380
cburke@cityofchicago.org
Co-Sponsor
Shirley Coleman
1249 W. 63rd st
Chicago Il, 60636
773-918-1670
sacoleman@cityofchicago.org
This was written by
Michelle Murphy 312-744-3380
Please contact them immediately!!! Tomorrow I will post a list of 20 other Aldermans you can contact as well who will be voting on this.
(10) Reptile(reptilia) All Helodermatidae(gila monster and mexican beaded lizards) all front-fanged venomous snakes, even if its devenomized, including but not limited to, all viperidea(viper, pit viper), all elapiidae(cobra, momba, krait, coral snake), All Atractaspididae(african burrowing asp), all hydrophidae(sea snake), all Latieaudidae(sea Krait) all venomous, mid or rear fanged, duernoy-glanded members of the family Colubridae, even if devenomized; any member, or hybrid offspring of the family boidae, including but not limited to, the common or green or anaconda and yellow anaconda;any member of the family pythonidae, including but not limited to African rock python, indian or burmese python, amethystine or scrub python; any member of the family Varanidae, including the white throated monitor, Bose’s or African savannah monitor, komodo monitor or dragon, nile monitor, crocodile monitor, water monitor, bornean ealess monitor, any member of the family iguanidae, including the common or green iguana, any member of the family teidae including but not limited to the golden, common or balck and white tegu; all members of the family Chelydridae, including snapping turtle and alligator snapping turtle; and all members of the family crocodylia including, but not limited to alligator, caiman and crocodile.
Thats how it reads verbatim. So you can forget your pastel, spider, pied ball pythons, dwarf species of boas of coarse not limited to and including albinos, sunglows, snows, motleys. If the ordinance passes you will never have the chance to own any of the above and if you do you better prey no one ever turns you in(POed Ex-girlfriend, competitor) because if they do your $10,000 Pied will become city property! We need to take action NOW!!!!!! So please write and call these people. Also I still need volunteers to work as liaisons to pass this sort of info along in other states. Also if you know of anything of this sort going on in your state please let me know. Send me links or info to get a copy of the bill, I will do everything I can to pass the info on to as many people as I can. And if you know of a herp society in your area please email there contact info(phone number, web site address, mailing addy, email addy, just anything). I want to comply list of all herp societies but don’t have the time to do searches and in a lot of cases they arent even listed on the net. I will get it all listed on my web site or start another on or something. But please email any helpful info you can as I will be posting this anywhere and everywhere I can and wont have time to go back and read all the replies. So please get active!!!!!!!!
Jason Sweigart
Classic@dumerils.com
www.dumerils.com
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Jason & Danica
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