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Old 07-25-2010, 10:27 PM   #39
dmasio
Some more crap to deal with!!!

Exotic-animal owners, sellers fear for future
Sunday, July 25, 2010 03:02 AM
By Vince Bond Jr.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

SHARI LEWISDISPATCH PHOTOS
Paul Thomas, 5, of Columbus, gets acquainted with a rhino iguana at the All-Ohio Reptile Show. The annual event, held since 1988, could face extinction soon.

Exotic animals, like this albino boa constrictor, could be banned in Ohio by a proposed executive order from Gov. Ted Strickland.Selling boa constrictors and pythons is Tim Koppenhofer's lifeblood.

But if Gov. Ted Strickland issues an executive order to ban the sale and possession of exotic pets in Ohio, Koppenhofer's business could run as cold as the blood of his prized snakes.

Koppenhofer, who with his wife, Susan, owns Special K Reptiles, has had to rely on his hobby to make ends meet for the past six months after losing his job at an insurance company.

Reptile business owners wouldn't be the only ones hurt, he said.

Companies selling heat lamps, aquariums and rodents used for food also would face an immediate drop in revenue.

"If this forces me out of business, I'll move out of the state," said Koppenhofer, 57, of Madison. "I would stay close because I have family here."

He said Michigan and Indiana are potential landing spots.

During the All-Ohio Reptile Show yesterday at the Moose Family Center on Demorest Road, Koppenhofer was one of several exotic-pet dealers thinking about the potential fallout from

a ban on their business.

A promise to issue the order was part of a three-way deal among Strickland, the Humane Society of the United States and the Ohio Farm Bureau. The deal prevents a proposed constitutional amendment on farm and animal-care reforms from reaching the November ballot.

MT Schwartz, show spokeswoman and owner of Saffire Dragons in Powell, said the long-running show either would move or stop completely if the order takes effect. The show began in 1988.

Elayne Bruckman, co-owner of Bruckman Reptiles in Ligonier, Pa., said her yearly profits would be chopped in half if she

can't make stops in Ohio.

Bruckman, who was laid off from her job at an insurance company recently, said the business is her family's sole income.

"In this economy, we need more jobs, not regulation and restriction,"

said Bruckman, 54. People who already own exotic

pets would be able to keep their animals, but they wouldn't be allowed to breed them or buy more.

That would leave Urbana snake dealer Jeff Crabtree stuck with a gang of boas and pythons at his house.

"They're trying to take our freedom," said Crabtree, 53.

Schwartz pointed out several children checking out the assortment of snakes, bearded dragon lizards, geckos and turtles.

If reptile shows like this one become extinct, youngsters would lose educational opportunities, she said.

Schwartz let children feed and pet her rhino iguana Sandy. "That is heaven to
me," said Schwartz as she talked about the curious youngsters. "This is the
way to get them to appreciate nature."

vbond@dispatch.com