ft lauderdale defnitely only has a ban or maybe a restriction against big exotic animals, lions and tigers and bears, and the such

interstign point about monkeys . there used to be a monkey farm in Dania in the 50's & 60's-(?) . when they closed down they released the primates into the wild . for many years they could be seen daily feeding at the edge of the forest next to a trailer park . i myeslf went down there several times .i had see, them in groups anywhere from 20 -40 . i didnt attempt to feed them as they were livign inthe wild and i didnt want to make them more human dependant or have them get too comfortable with people . the peopl in the trailer park started chaszing people off and jsut a couple years ago i read a report on them . a primatologist had gone looking for them . they no longer come to the edge of the forest and no reliable sightings have been made in about 5 years . the researcher could npot find any trace of them . granted ,as they admitted they may have moved back deeper into the woods and now shun human contact . I hope this is what happened . i find it hard but not impossible to believe that they lived for over twenty years then suddenly died out in 5 or so . it is my fondest hope that they are still livign happily in the trees somewhere in Broward county . :scatter:

but ... if you live int he ft lauderdale area you can still see a few big cats and a couple bears at the seminole zoo (?) on 441 . i think its between griffin and stirling . they also have a gator pond and some other indiginous animals . last time i was there they were boarding a group of 5 or so pygmy marmosets for someone . would that i had more space and time ( and $$$$) i would love to get a pygmy marmoset . but i can honsetly say that i dont have the time to dedicate to raisng anc caring for them , so none for me . :scatter:

Pinellas Co.
 

Pinellas County will be trying for a ban on all exotics. There will be a meeting tomorrow night, Tues. Feb 22, at 6pm at the downtown Clearwater Court House.

What state is this in?

Pinellas County, Florida
Just across the bay from Tampa

New Info
 

There is a PUBLIC HEARING on February 22, 2005 at 6:30pm at the
commission chamber, 315 Court Street, Clearwater, Fl. (that's
Clearwater Courthouse downtown).....At this hearing they are going
to try to get the State Constitution changed and amend the present
Zoning Code so that Animal Services can regulate any exotic animal
including those permitted by FWCC. They are going to put in the
words "appropriate neighborhood" for where you can have your animals
( you can't live near a school, day care center, ALF, etc.) They
are also going to try to have exotic cats declared "vicious animals"
so they can be confiscated by Animal Services and destroyed.

The County Attorney still believes, even though they lost in Court,
that the County can regulate FWCC permitted animals. They tried to
say that the County Administrator had the power to conclude that
tigers, etc., were the same as cattle, horses, and other farm animals
and they could regulate how many and which cats could be kept on an
agriculturally zoned property............ they lost because the Judge
told them the State Constitution specifically gave the power to FWCC,
not the Cities or Counties. ........But here they go again.

There are already new regulations by FWCC as to acreage for new
owners. This puts the number of properties in Pinellas County where
new exotics, cats/primates/elephants, etc can live at very few. In
theory, if the commissioners pass these new laws, a person buying a
goldfish or parrot from PetSmart would need to live on property zoned
for livestock, which is agricultural acreage.

They also mentioned that if you have an exotic animal, and it
grows "to where it may become a danger", you can't have any children
under 16 living in the same house.

Tell everyone you know who owns any animal under the jurisdiction of
FWCC, whether it's a primate, reptile, sugar glider, parrot, squirrel
or raccoon to show up at the public meeting on the 22nd. You will be
able to speak. Dr. Mitchell told the commissioners FWCC doesn't
enforce their own regulations and he wants his staff to be able to
tell us what to do with our animals.


This is all happening because one commisioner, Ken Welch, has a
personal problem because someone wasn't shaking with fear that he's a
commissioner and didn't answer his questions, so now he's going to
mess with the exotic animal folks and Dr. Mitchell is stating things
that aren't true and trying to get his totally unqualified staff to
regulate exotics.

Everyone....SHOW UP and SPEAK UP! Don't let anyone intimidate you
into not speaking. Everyone's opinion is important.

I hope a ton of people show up. If I lived there, I'd certainly go. Heck if I was just visiting, I would go. These people need to be educated because it's their ignorance of exotic animals that is working here.

What is this about not being able to have exotic animals if you live near a school or daycare center? How silly. I haven't seen a report of a ball python on a rampage through a daycare center yet. Around here many schools have exotic animals IN the classrooms. What would they do about that?

What happened at the meeting?

Florida Herpers Beware!!
 

Prior to last nights public hearing, the first information received
was that we were going to be fighting a ban. Then it was discovered that it
was "only" about cage setbacks for "livestock" and did not apply to
any of us and we should all stay home. What the commissioners did
not tell us, but the county attorney did, was that the county
definition of livestock includes ALL animals regulated by Florida
Fish and Wildlife Commission...that's exotics.

Then we were told to view a video of a work session the board held
in January to see what the TRUE agenda was. This is available online
via the county website. They clearly state that they want to regulate cage setbacks of "wild animals" as a "first step to having more control." Animal Control states FWC is not doing their job appropriately. AC and the county commissioners discussed and plan to get with Hillsborough County and see what they can come up with as far as addressing their concerns on a state
level w/FWC.

When the question was asked by the county commission whether or not
they have the authority to regulate, one response was "we can make
their lives miserable." This was an off-hand sarcastic comment
coming from one of the commissioners who was actually arguing that
it was too much government interference and that there had been NO
problems with exotics in Pinellas County, but this is EXACTLY what
their agenda is. If they cannot regulate us because it's FWC's
jurisdiction, then they will make our lives miserable by passing
zoning regulations that would make it impossible for some people to
comply. Very few new permits would be issued because many would not
meet the land and zoning requirements. If a cage were to come down
in a hurricane (we had 4 last year) in many cases it could not be
rebuilt according to the new setback zoning regulations and those
people would be SOL. They would be forced to give up their animal(s)
or move. In addition, if one wanted to build a second cage for
additional animals it most likely cannot be done.

Several exotic animal owners attended the hearing and spoke
to the board. In my opinion, the speeches were outstanding. They
confronted the commissioners with many excellent legitimate concerns
and questions. They stated facts and exposed many of the unwarranted
statements we have heard from a certain few individuals pursuing
this ordinance. Unfortunately, our opinions do not hold water to
whatever the county decides to do.

The county attorney did mention that all current permit holders will
be grandfathered regarding the zoning ordinance. However, the
commission signed off on a letter to the state FWC expressing their
concerns and one of the items they would like addressed is the
definition of "appropriate" neighborhood. One comment was made that
a facility could meet the state defined acreage and caging
requirements BUT if this facility happens to be located next to a
school, they do not feel this should be considered "appropriate".

Again, they want us to believe that this was "JUST" about cage set
backs for "livestock" ... they kept mentioning roosters during the
public meeting when just 3 hours earlier during their non public
meeting they CLEARLY verbalize EXOTIC animals such as tigers and
bringing up the tiger escape/shooting incident in South Florida not
too long ago as an example of why they feel these animals should
not be allowed in Pinellas County.

Bottom line is they passed the issue of setting cage setbacks
for "livestock" in this county. If you have a small lot, you are
screwed. It's a ban in disguise of what the county is calling
a "zoning" issue. On one of the tapes, they mention "it's a start"
to gain more control over "wild animals" in our community.... a few
words that confirm we have not seen the end of this........ I truly
believe Hillsborough County will be next to get involved in this
mess. Why can't they just leave it as is and let the FWC continue
to do their job? We are already regulated by them and many are also
regulated by USDA..... Is that too much to ask?