Ohio Falls

Exotic animal regulations head to Ohio governor
By ANN SANNER


The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Legislation that would tighten regulations on owning exotic animals in Ohio was headed Tuesday to the governor for his expected signature, months after authorities were forced to shoot dozens of lions, tigers and other dangerous wildlife released from a farm last fall.

The measure would ban new ownership of exotic animals, while allowing current owners to keep their creatures by obtaining a new state-issued permit by 2014 and adhering to strict new caretaking standards.

Facilities accredited by some national zoo groups would be exempt from the bill, along with sanctuaries and research institutions.

Ohio's restrictions on exotic pets are among the nation's weakest. Efforts to strengthen the law took on new urgency after Terry Thompson released 50 animals — including black bears, mountain lions and Bengal tigers — from his eastern Ohio farm in Zanesville in October before he committed suicide. Authorities killed 48 of the animals as a public safety measure. Two others were believed to have been eaten by other animals.

The Ohio House passed the measure 87-9 with changes on Tuesday, and the Senate agreed to the revisions, which included lower permit fees and a lower minimum insurance requirement than the version senators passed last month.

Permit fees for bears, tigers and other dangerous animals would begin at $250. And insurance policies for the creatures could range from $200,000 to as high as $1 million, depending on the number of animals.

Owners would be required to pass a background check and show inspectors that they adhere to care standards and have taken safety measures such as fencing their property. Signs would have to be posted on the property to alert people there were dangerous animals on the premises.

The bill cleared the Legislature after hours of testimony from distraught owners who had lined up in hearings to express concerns about having to get rid of the family pet or pay too high of a price to keep it, among other issues.

The Columbus Zoo and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation are among the measure's supporters.
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world...d-1443711.html

authorities were forced to shoot dozens of lions, tigers and other dangerous wildlife released from a farm last fall.

I think I would strongly consider supporting this bill in Ohio if I lived in a state with dangerous animals roaming loose,tighter regulation is clearly needed.

I can not see a small fee negatively impacting a family that keeps exotic pets,in Jersey we have regulations for keeping exotic pets(reptiles etc.) that require us to purchase a hobby permit $15.00 or an animal dealer permit for $100.00

Originally Posted by Ed Clark

I think I would strongly consider supporting this bill in Ohio if I lived in a state with dangerous animals roaming loose,tighter regulation is clearly needed.

We, in Ohio, do not live in a state where dangerous/exotic animals are roaming loose.
This case (in Zanesville) was ~one~ incident, with ~one~ individual (who was clearly not "all there"), where he set the ~caged~ animals free and, then, shot himself.
This is like saying that, just because one person (esp. with mental issues) does something idiotic, it means that every responsible person should be punished for it, or have their rights revoked, etc.
Makes no sense and is ludicrous.

Originally Posted by Pasodama

We, in Ohio, do not live in a state where dangerous/exotic animals are roaming loose.

it means that every responsible person should be punished for it, or have their rights revoked, etc.

The fact that the authorities had to come in and shoot roaming dangerous animals means that you do live in a state exactly like I described,if it happened one time it can happen again.

Don't get me wrong I am against most unneeded regulation,if Ohio does go with a permit system with a small fee it certainly is not punishment of any kind and I seriously doubt that anyone's rights will be revoked.a permit system is also a good way to track an out break of a disease knowing the transfer of animals from person-person.

Originally Posted by Ed Clark

if it happened one time it can happen again.

so people should be punished for the bad actions of one person from a very isolated incident? (it's the only time I've ever heard of something like that happening..)

quick! let's put a warning label on coffee so people know it's hot!
oh wait...

First off, why is my reptile more of a threat than someone's cat? Do you agree that people should have to purchase permits for their cats? After all, they wreak havoc on local ecosystems and are known carriers of rabies (which is fatal). What about dogs? Look up the statistics on them to determine the type of dangers they pose to the public. This bill was a waste of time and only punishes responsible owners. Just another example of government overstepping its bounds. Don't expect it to stop here...

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

so people should be punished for the bad actions of one person from a very isolated incident? (it's the only time I've ever heard of something like that happening..)

Certainly not punish anyone,if a permit system is what they propose for anyone keeping exotic animals such as herps I can't see that ever being punishment.

quick! let's put a warning label on coffee so people know it's hot!
oh wait...

Hmm...well, McDonalds and numerous sellers of hot coffee have had to do just that.

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

a very isolated incident? (it's the only time I've ever heard of something like that happening..)

A tiger was roaming loose here in Jersey put alot of people in that area in a panic.we have always had a permit system in place here.long story short they traced that tiger back to the woman that owned it revoked her permits and removed all her animals.public safety was the issue here,we all need to be safe regardless of 1 persons rights to keep dangerous animals.

is it laid out how the permit system works? Is it $250 for each exotic? That is really going to impact people quite a bit if they have a lot. What happens when they have babies? Permit for each one? And having to get up to 1 million liability insurance is not cheap, most likely the typical home owners liability coverage under someone's property insurance is going to exclude animals, then people will need to get 'livestock' coverage which is not cheap by a long shot.

Government - protecting us from ourselves

Here its 15.00 for a hobby permit you add as many herps as you want.if you breed to sell you pay $100.00 for the animal dealer permit.no additional costs.

Watch out for that hot coffee!

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

is it laid out how the permit system works? Is it $250 for each exotic? That is really going to impact people quite a bit if they have a lot. What happens when they have babies? Permit for each one? And having to get up to 1 million liability insurance is not cheap, most likely the typical home owners liability coverage under someone's property insurance is going to exclude animals, then people will need to get 'livestock' coverage which is not cheap by a long shot.

Government - protecting us from ourselves