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Here is the text from the blanket ban on all exotic animals typed word for word!

thecaiman Jul 25, 2003 09:07 AM

Thank you jfmoore of ksnake for typing this out! anyone who wants the origanal scan of this is welcome to email me and Ill foward it to ya. Its a large file so may take some time. Thanks
===============================================================
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

This is the person sponsoring the ordinace:
Alderman: Edward M. Burke Ward Office: 2650 W. 51st Street
Chicago, IL 60632 Ward Phone: 773-471-1414 E-Mail: eburke@cityofchicago.org City Hall Office: 121 N. Lasalle St.
Room 302
Chicago, IL 60602 City Hall Phone: 312-744-3380
-----
Jason & Danica
A hit man for the order-when you couldnt go to school-had a skin job for a hair do-yeah you looked pretty cool-had a habit doing mainline-watch the dragon burn-no regrets, youve got no goals-nothing more to learn--now I know you wont refuse-because weve got so much to do-we got nothing more to lose-so take this number and welcome to-Operation : Mindcrime-were an under ground revolution working overtime...Operation Mindcrime, Queensryche.
Classic Dums

Replies (12)

East TN Reptile Jul 25, 2003 09:45 AM

This guy needs to get a life ! Considering (to the best of my knowledge) There' no deaths by constricting snakes in the U.S. I might be wrong,but the last time I seen the facts on deaths by animals in the U.S. Dogs were @ the top of the list! Which he is saying he's allow domestic dogs.
I beleive (imo) this guy is just scared of snakes! You know that the tax payers of the Windy City, must have voted him in to be an Alderman, to rid the great city from the slaughter of innocent people from these deadly reptiles......NOT!
Also, the tax payer's money is paying his salery PLUS this lil' campaign he's on!
We need to bind together & write, e mail this guy. Even if we don't live in Chicago!!!! We need to send this guy the facts. He doesn't have a reason for banning certain snakes....what's his proof that they need to be banned? this burns me up to no end !
Dave Derrick, East TN Reptiles

RioBravoReptiles Jul 25, 2003 10:49 AM

b
-----
Gus
A. Rentfro
RioBravoReptiles.com

"Quality is not an accident. Perfectly healthy animals are a minimum requirement.. everything else is just salesmanship" gus

East TN Reptile Jul 25, 2003 11:50 AM

I'm not all that angrey. I just don't understand why this guy is doing this. One post to this message,stated there have been a few deaths related to constrictors. The # of deaths related to Dogs is in the 1,000's
By the way Gus......... How many litters ya had this year?
Dave

meretseger Jul 25, 2003 11:07 AM

There have been a few deaths. A very few. All the ones I've read about have been from burms, but I guess a couple have been from retics. That's it: two dangerous species. I wish there were a way to get people to respect these animals without stupid blanket laws being passed.

Frankie W Jul 25, 2003 11:47 AM

Just sent Mr Burke a e-mail. I'm not very good with big words or typing my thoughts.Jason is there a free petition site or something along that lines, and could a petition be used in this matter. Keep up the good fight man.....Frankie

eurban2 Jul 25, 2003 12:13 PM

Will someone please tell me how TURKEYS and SHEEP pose a public threat?? Why don't they just say "no pets allowed except pure-bred domesticated dogs and cats". It would take less paper. I mean, get a grip! Find a clue - BUY one if you have too! I wrote another email to this Burke person, pleading for sanity. No, I didn't tell him to go 'buy a clue'. But, in a very professional way, I guess I did. One of the things I asked: just how do these animals listed in this proposed ordinance relate to the virus found in prairie dogs?
Even for an excuse, it's a lame excuse. Ah, well - time for me to quit ranting and get back to work.

Hoppy Jul 25, 2003 01:26 PM

I sent a copy of this to both his addresses and to his e-mail> I would suggest that others do the same, as well as to the other voting board members

JAMES M. HOPKINS
17531 Stepping Stone Dr.
Ft. Myers, FL 33912
hopfam1@aol.com

To: Alderman: Edward M. Burke
City Hall Office: 121 N. Lasalle St.
Room 302
Chicago, IL 60602 City Hall

July 25, 2003

Dear Sir,
I feel compelled to contact you in regards to your pending amendment in regards to keeping reptiles and other exotics as pets. I must first give you some of my back ground and why I feel compelled to contact you. I neither live in your community or for that matter in your beautiful state. However, such legal restrictions tend to have a rippling type effect and do effect us all. You see, I am a hobbyist Herpculturists. I raise and breed several different types of snakes, including Boa Constrictor Sub-species, Corn and Kings Snakes and several Pythons species.
I am a father of two (two girls ages 16 and 12) and a husband. I am also a professional Law Enforcement Officer, I am Deputy Sheriff in Collier County FL. I own my own home and live a very responsible life. I make a good living, save for my children to go to college and I am well respected in the community. However if the legislation, that you members are considering, is passed in your community, I would be considered a violator of the laws in which I am sworn to up hold, if I lived in your town.
My question to you good folks would be, what is the benefit that you hope to achieve? Most legislation of this type is born of fear and misinformation. I can almost certainly be assured that your town is not crawling with thirty foot long man-eating snakes? More often then not, such legislation is because a local teenager had a Ball Python that became loose and scared someone.
The Ball Python happens to be the most common type of pet exotic snake and does not normally attain a length of more then four feet. Even some of the larger reptile species that are kept tend to be very docile and pose little to no threat to anyone. Boa Constrictors are one of the most tame snakes that can be kept (they can grow to lengths of 12 feet, but are more commonly seen at about 6’). There are more then 100 times the number of dog bites each year in the United States then there are snake bites, the number is increased again ten fold when you consider only pet or exotic snakes in the equation. I could certainly understand restrictions on venomous reptiles and even a permit type of requirement on non-venomous reptiles or other exotics. But an out right ban of these animals is of little to no use. They are a common pet that poses no danger to the public at large and they provide no complaints from noise they make (such as dogs do barking).
My concern is that you, as a law making council, are deciding on a law with out truly researching the facts. A law based on unfounded fears is of no use to anyone and provides nothing but costly enforcement and future litigation based on constitutional grounds. I would be glad to provide (via telephone, or e-mail) any needed information to truly make an informed decision on this issue.
If you have any questions until then feel free to contact me.
Thanks again
Sincerely,

James Hopkins

Simbo Jul 25, 2003 02:59 PM

.

East TN Reptile Jul 25, 2003 10:00 PM

I intend to contact this person. I've got to write it out 1st. I'm going really try to get my point across without an anger. That's why I'm writing......that way I can type what I've wrote & thought out instaed of showing my ignorance Dave

thecaiman Jul 25, 2003 10:17 PM

>>I sent a copy of this to both his addresses and to his e-mail> I would suggest that others do the same, as well as to the other voting board members
>>
>>
>>JAMES M. HOPKINS
>>17531 Stepping Stone Dr.
>>Ft. Myers, FL 33912
>>hopfam1@aol.com
>>
>>To: Alderman: Edward M. Burke
>>City Hall Office: 121 N. Lasalle St.
>>Room 302
>>Chicago, IL 60602 City Hall
>>
>>July 25, 2003
>>
>>Dear Sir,
>>I feel compelled to contact you in regards to your pending amendment in regards to keeping reptiles and other exotics as pets. I must first give you some of my back ground and why I feel compelled to contact you. I neither live in your community or for that matter in your beautiful state. However, such legal restrictions tend to have a rippling type effect and do effect us all. You see, I am a hobbyist Herpculturists. I raise and breed several different types of snakes, including Boa Constrictor Sub-species, Corn and Kings Snakes and several Pythons species.
>>I am a father of two (two girls ages 16 and 12) and a husband. I am also a professional Law Enforcement Officer, I am Deputy Sheriff in Collier County FL. I own my own home and live a very responsible life. I make a good living, save for my children to go to college and I am well respected in the community. However if the legislation, that you members are considering, is passed in your community, I would be considered a violator of the laws in which I am sworn to up hold, if I lived in your town.
>>My question to you good folks would be, what is the benefit that you hope to achieve? Most legislation of this type is born of fear and misinformation. I can almost certainly be assured that your town is not crawling with thirty foot long man-eating snakes? More often then not, such legislation is because a local teenager had a Ball Python that became loose and scared someone.
>>The Ball Python happens to be the most common type of pet exotic snake and does not normally attain a length of more then four feet. Even some of the larger reptile species that are kept tend to be very docile and pose little to no threat to anyone. Boa Constrictors are one of the most tame snakes that can be kept (they can grow to lengths of 12 feet, but are more commonly seen at about 6’). There are more then 100 times the number of dog bites each year in the United States then there are snake bites, the number is increased again ten fold when you consider only pet or exotic snakes in the equation. I could certainly understand restrictions on venomous reptiles and even a permit type of requirement on non-venomous reptiles or other exotics. But an out right ban of these animals is of little to no use. They are a common pet that poses no danger to the public at large and they provide no complaints from noise they make (such as dogs do barking).
>>My concern is that you, as a law making council, are deciding on a law with out truly researching the facts. A law based on unfounded fears is of no use to anyone and provides nothing but costly enforcement and future litigation based on constitutional grounds. I would be glad to provide (via telephone, or e-mail) any needed information to truly make an informed decision on this issue.
>>If you have any questions until then feel free to contact me.
>>Thanks again
>>Sincerely,
>>
>>
>>James Hopkins
-----
Jason & Danica
A hit man for the order-when you couldnt go to school-had a skin job for a hair do-yeah you looked pretty cool-had a habit doing mainline-watch the dragon burn-no regrets, youve got no goals-nothing more to learn--now I know you wont refuse-because weve got so much to do-we got nothing more to lose-so take this number and welcome to-Operation : Mindcrime-were an under ground revolution working overtime...Operation Mindcrime, Queensryche.
Classic Dums

Hoppy Jul 26, 2003 09:40 AM

hkgkh

Hoppy Jul 25, 2003 01:33 PM

E-mail or call them all so the can vote correctley, don't let it go by with out your input
Jim Hopkins
List of Aldermen for Chicogo

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