vettesherps

On February 5th the following members of the FVHC attended the hearing held by the DNR in Green Bay:

George Gunther
Nancy Gurno
Bill Heindl
Lonnie Moens
Bill Hewitt
And reptile friend Al Guetzkow

Our purpose was to determine the extent of application the Captive Wildlife statute would have on herpers in Wisconsin. The wording in the statute was very ambiguous and many of us were concerned that the implications on us could severely hamper our educational and keeping goals. The representatives from Madison said they would allow a few minutes for questions to clarify the intent of the statute. Those of us present questioned the representatives for over an hour before we felt we had clarified the intent and had all of our questions and concerns addressed. This is the way the statute was explained as I understand it.

1. The requirement for a veterinary certificate will only apply to animals being brought into Wisconsin. This will apply to all reptiles as they are all considered as wild animals. The animals we currently possess will not need this certificate, unless you intend to transport them out of the state and then return with them. You would also need the certificate if you were having someone transport them and were paying for the service. All animal transporters are required to have in their possession a veterinary certificate. Owners transporting their own animals with in the state of Wisconsin would not require the same certificate. Please be aware that animals bought out of the state and brought into Wisconsin do need a vet. cert. Prior to entering the state. This means if you travel to Streamwood and purchase an animal you will need the certificate from the state of origin to bring it back.
2. The animal transport license that is called for by the statute only applies to those transporters who transport animals for hire. This means the if you are paid to transport animals you would be required to have the animal transport license. One of the representatives said this is an area we need to be careful with because in his words if you agree to transport another persons animal(s) for any compensation, you would be required to have this license, even if it is for something other than money. I do think there could be a problem here in as much as many of us have received animals through UPS or Airborne Express. They would now be required to have an animal transport license in Wisconsin. This would mean that any animal you purchase even on line if shipped by a common carrier needs this and I am sure they will want a vet. Cert. also to make them legal. This may significantly increase the cost of shipping an animal to our state.
3. The nest issue we discussed was the Dept. of Ag. permit. We were informed that this permit was not required for all animals. Most reptiles would not require it. The representative explained that they felt it would mainly apply to certain species of venomous herps and may apply to some species considered to carry diseases that humans may easily catch if they contact these animals. Just my opinion but this may apply to turtles and iguanas because they are widely considered as carriers of salmonella.
4. The final issue we discussed was the one requiring the vet. Cert. for swaps, shows and exhibitions. After clarification on this point we were told that it does not apply to those animals we already have in Wisconsin for shows we do in Wisconsin.

So it is my opinion that we are not going to be severely impacted by this statute or at least not as severely as we had originally expected. We did manage as I said to take over an hour of their time but I feel it was worth it to reach an understanding and give us some assurances that we are not putting ourselves in jeopardy every time we leave with our animals to attend a show. There are some aspects of this statute that I think will benefit the public and us, and some that I feel will hurt the reptile community. I did get the feeling that most of this was pushed through because of the recent CDW and Monkey Pox outbreaks in Wisconsin. There was one other thing I feel is worth mentioning and that is that the representatives informed us that the DNR is currently drafting another bill that may impact us even more than this one. We will need to be on our toes and watch for it over the next several months. The representatives didn’t really have much information on this new threat but just by their mention I feel we should be concerned. I would like to thank those members and Al for coming to help support us at this hearing.