Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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If anyone would like this in Word document format, email me through Kingsnake. The original contains some strike-throughs for omitted language that does not show up here.

-Joan

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ORDINANCE

WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government as defined in Article VII, Section 6(a) of the Illinois Constitution, and as such may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to it government and its affairs; and

WHEREAS, the protection of the health and welfare of its citizens is a matter pertaining to the government and affairs of the City of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Illinois State authorities, along with the United States Centers for Disease Control authorities, have determined that an undetermined number of prairie dogs held by an exotic pet distributor in Illinois have been infected or may have been infected with an orthopox virus, which virus has been determined by the CDC to be monkeypox or a closely-related infectious agent; and

WHEREAS, these prairie dogs have been held in close proximity with other animals of numerous species, some of which may be susceptible to infection with orthopox viruses, and these animals include Gambian rats which previously have been associated with transmission of orthopox viruses; and

WHEREAS, recently, there have been twelve humans in the State of Wisconsin and at least one person in the State of Illinois where the individuals have exhibited symptoms consistent with an orthopox virus; and

WHEREAS, there is reliable information that some of these individuals have had contact with prairie dogs from the exotic pet dealership in question; and

WHEREAS, at the time of this outbreak, there were no known human cases of monkeypox in the United States; and

WHEREAS, bites from wild animals and contact with a infected wild animal have led to serious illnesses and death of persons; and

WHEREAS, the City of Chicago seeks to further protect the health and welfare of the residents of Chicago;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHICAGO,

SECTION 1. Section 7-12-360 of the Municipal Code of the City of Chicago is hereby amended by inserting the underlined language and deleting the stricken through language as follows:

7-12-360. Wild animals prohibited.

(a) No person shall sell or give to another person, possess, harbor or keep wild animals identified in subsection (b) of this section or in regulations promulgated by the Commissioner pursuant to subsection (e) of this section other than in:

(1) A zoological park or aquarium; or

(2) A circus or native wildlife rehabilitator licensed by federal or state agencies; or

(3) A place which has received the approval of the Department to exhibit or use such animals, and which has protective devices, which are adequate to prevent such animal from escaping or injuring the public. The Department may impose reasonable conditions and time limits on the granting of such approval.

(b) For the purposes of this Code, wild animals are deemed to be any animals which are naturally inclined to do harm and capable of inflicting harm upon human beings and are hereby prohibited pursuant to subsection (a). Such animals shall include: (i) any animals specified by the Commissioner in regulations promulgated pursuant to this section; (ii) any native or exotic wildlife whose possession or sale is prohibited because they are designated as protected or endangered pursuant to any federal, state or local law, regulation, or rule; and (iii) any of the following animals:

(1) All dogs other than domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris), including, but not limited to, wolf, fox, coyote, hyaena, dingo, jackal, dhole, fennec, raccoon dog, zorro, bush dog, aardwolf, cape hunting dog and any hybrid offspring of a wild dog and domesticated dog.

(2) All cats other than domesticated cats (Felis catus), including, but not limited to, lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, puma, panther, mountain lion, cheetah, wild cat, cougar, bobcat, lynx, serval, caracal, jaguarundi, margay and any hybrid offspring of a wild cat and domesticated cat.

(3) All bears, including polar, grizzly, brown and black bear.

(4) All fur bearing mammals of the family Mustelidae, including, but not limited to, weasel, marten, mink, badger, ermine, skunk, otter, pole cat, zorille, wolverine, stoat and ferret.

(5) All Procyonidae: All raccoon (eastern, desert, ring-tailed cat), kinkajou, cacomistle, cat-bear, panda and coatimundi.

(6) All carnivorous mammals of the family Viverridae, including, but not limited to, civet, mongoose, genet, binturong, fossa, linsang and suricate.

(7) All bats (Chiroptera).

(8) All non-human primates, including, but not limited to, monkey, ape, chimpanzee, gorilla and lemur.

(9) All squirrels (Sciuridae).

(10) Reptiles (Reptilia). All Helodermatidae (gila monster and Mexican beaded lizard); all front-fanged venomous snakes, even it devenomized, including, but not limited to, all Viperidae (viper, pit viper), all Elapidae (cobra, mamba, krait, coral snake), all Atractaspididae (African burrowing asp), all Hydrophiidae (sea snake), all Laticaudidae (sea krait); all venomous, mid-or rear-fanged, Duvernoy-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 anaconda and yellow anaconda; any member of the family Pythonidae, including but not limited to the African rock python, Indian or Burmese python, Amethystine or scrub python; any member of the family Varanidae, including the white throated monitor, Bosc's or African savannah monitor, Komodo monitor or dragon, Nile monitor, crocodile monitor, water monitor, Bornean earless monitor; any member of the family Iguanidae, including the green or common iguana; any member of the family Teiidae, including, but not limited to the golden, common, or black and white tegu; all members of the family Chelydridae, including snapping turtle and alligator snapping turtle; and all members of the order Crocodylia, including, but not limited to alligator, caiman and crocodile.

(11) Birds and Fowl (Aves): All predatory or large birds, including, but not limited to, eagle, hawk, falcon, owl, vulture, condor, emu, rhea and ostrich; roosters, geese, ducks and turkeys prohibited or otherwise regulated pursuant to §161.19 of this Code, the Agriculture and Markets Law or applicable federal law.

(12) All venomous insects, including, but not limited to, bee, hornet and wasp.

(13) Arachnida and Chilopoda: All venomous spiders, including, but not limited to, tarantula, black widow and solifugid; scorpion; all venomous arthropods including, but not limited to, centipede.

(14) All large rodents (Rodentia), including, but not limited to, gopher, muskrat, paca, woodchuck, marmot, beaver, prairie dog, capybara, sewellel, viscacha, porcupine, gambien rats and hutia.

(15) All even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla) including, but not limited to, deer, antelope, sheep, giraffe and hippopotamus.

(16) All odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla) other than domesticated horses (Equus caballus), including, but not limited to, zebra, rhinoceros and tapir.

(17) All marsupials, including, but not limited to, Tasmanian devil, dasyure, bandicoot, kangaroo, wallaby, opossum, wombat, koala bear, cuscus, numbat and pigmy, sugar and greater glider.

(18) Sea mammals (Cetacea, Pinnipedia and Sirenia), including, but not limited to, dolphin, whale, seal, sea lion and walrus.

(19) All elephants (Proboscides)

(20) All hyrax (Hydracoidea).

(21) All pangolin (Pholidota).

(22) All sloth and armadillo (Edentata).

(23) Insectivorous mammals (Insectivora): All aardvark (Tubildentata), anteater, shrew, otter shrew, gymnure, desman, tenrec, mole and hedge hog.

(24) Gliding lemur (Dermoptera).

(c) In addition to domesticated dogs and cats, an animal may be kept, possessed, harbored or sold in the City of New York provided that possession of the animal is not otherwise prohibited by law, including federal, state and local laws regulating domestic animals and livestock or protecting wildlife and endangered species. Such animals include, but are not limited to, gerbil, hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), guinea pig, domesticated rabbit and fowl or small birds such as parakeet, parrot, canary and finch.

(d) An animal whose possession is prohibited pursuant to this section may be seized by any authorized employee, officer or agent of the Department or of any other agency of the City of New York, and the Commissioner shall provide for such animal's appropriate disposition.

(1) An order issued by the Commissioner pursuant to this section shall contain a notice that the owner of such animal may, within three business days of receipt of the order, request an opportunity to be heard with respect to whether the animal is a prohibited animal and its appropriate disposition. The Commissioner shall provide such an opportunity to be heard as soon as practicable, but no later than 15 days after receipt of such request.

(2) With the written consent of the Department, an owner of any animal whose possession is prohibited pursuant to this section, may remove such animal to another jurisdiction where its possession is not prohibited pursuant to any local or other law.

(e) The Commissioner may promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to add to the list in subsection (b) any animal which the Commissioner determines is naturally inclined to do harm and capable of inflicting bodily harm upon human beings.

(f) If provision of this section is adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this section.

SECTION 2. This ordinance shall take effect upon passage and publication.

___________________________________ ____________________________________
Alderman Edward M. Burke, 14th Ward Alderman Shirley A. Coleman, 16th Ward

Hmmmmmm it seems Alderman Burk and Colman where knocked out and transported to New York and forgot what city they where elected to serve .

Kevin

P.S. I know its bad hummor but I just could not help myself :O )
NAROA

This was posted by someone over on the gecko forum. This is an awesome example of how to get through to these people.
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As an owner of an exotic pet, I would like to say I am appalled by ordinance 7-12-360 (Wild animals prohibited). Using the outbreak of monkeypox to justify banning anything but prairie dogs is a gross abuse of power. Unless you can provide justifiable, scientific reasoning why each and every individual on this list is an immediate threat to human lives, I would request this ordinance be abandoned or modified. The ‘City of Chicago seeks to further protect the health and welfare of the residents of Chicago’ by using misinformation and scare tactics to put a blanket over many harmless exotic pets. Domesticated dogs are a much greater risk (physically and health related) to the people of Chicago than some exotic animals listed in this ordinance.
>>>In an article entitled “Chicago animal control Swamped: 2 Alderman Fear Office is Understaffed” in the Chicago Sun-Times, March 11, 2003 by Fran Spielman; Andrew Herrmann, your own Executive director of the city's Commission on Animal Care and Control made a notable comment. Nikki Proutsos said, “The long-term answer is not more animal control officers, but responsible ownership.” This is true with every animal kept as a pet. The same article stated that, “Last year, there were 25,007 calls to Chicago's 311 non- emergency number about stray animals, primarily dogs,” “2,718 bites were reported in 2002” and “Some aldermen contend…..there has been an apparent epidemic of dog-mauling cases in recent weeks and months,” due to lack of proper funding. Kenneth Phillips provides this statistic, “There are almost 5 million dog bites per year. About 3,000 per day require medical treatment, and 1,000 of those are seen in hospital emergency rooms. Dog bites cause losses that exceed $1 billion per year,” (1999-2003 Kenneth Morgan Phillips). Domesticated dogs seem to be a much greater threat to Chicago residents than thirteen people contracting monkeypox.
>>>The CDC web-site lists some of the notable transmittable illnesses humans can contract from dogs, including: bacterium Campylobacter, bacterium Leptospira, rabies (a deadly viral disease), Brucella canis, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Dipylidium (Tapeworm), Giardia, Hookworms, Leishmania, Leptospira, Lyme disease, Q fever, Ringworm, Rockey Mountain Spotted Fever, Toxocara (Roundworm), and Salmonella. The CDC states, “Dogs can carry a variety of germs that can make people sick.” Under reptiles the CDC has only one notable health concern, Salmonella, which the CDC characterizes as, “diarrhea, fever, and stomach pain…..usually go away after 1 week.” Furthermore, the CDC states, “Usually, people get salmonellosis by eating contaminated food, such as chicken or eggs….Dogs, cats, birds (including pet birds), horses, and farm animals can also pass Salmonella in their feces.” That is seventeen significant illnesses that dogs pass to humans and only one mild illness the CDC notes that infects humans from ALL SPECIES of snakes, lizards and turtles.
>>>It is the responsibility of a human owner to take care of whatever animal or insect species they possess. Regular veterinary checkups and behavioral monitoring make dogs, cats, horses, pet birds and fish a safe experience for the owner and their neighbors. These, and only these requirements, are what Chicago needs to ask of most exotic pet owners.
>>>I request information from this office on statistics for each and every animal in the ordinance. The requested information includes the number of people bitten by each animal when kept as pets in the United States and Chicago and the number of people that have contracted an illness, and what illness, by each animal when kept as pets in the United States and Chicago. I assume this information is readily at hand since these statistics are necessary for the justification of this ordinance.
>>
>>Thank you,
>>Name
>>Address
>>Phone Number
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Jason & Danica
Heads I win tails you lose. Get out of my way I am coming through. Roll the dice and dont think twice when we crush....crush....crush em...crush em! Megadeth
Classic Dums

Using phrases like “gross abuse of power”, and requesting that a Chicago alderman send the letter writer (a California resident) detailed statistics on every animal mentioned in the ordinance may make the writer feel good and score points with like-minded folks. But, let’s face it, this is not the best way to convince an elected official to reconsider his or her position. Whether we like it or not, we have to persuade our legislators. So please just stick to some well-chosen facts to make your case.

Also, you, Jason, might want to consider whether you should be ending every email on this issue which you are posting on various internet sites with:

Heads I win tails you lose. Get out of my way I am coming through. Roll the dice and dont think twice when we crush....crush....crush em...crush em! Megadeth

Is this really the impression you wish to leave?

Sorry if I come across as a humorless scold, but the best way to rally support from the widest possible audience often involves submerging parts of our personalities so others aren’t distracted from our main message.

You are absolutely correct about this approach. Elected officials need to be educated and encouraged to make the proper decisions, not intimidated. It is also best to talk with them directly; it is more efficient than email. ~Bill~
The Louisiana Gulf Coast Herpetological Society, Inc.