Published: Tuesday, April 21, 2015
The Conservators Center rescued 14 abused lions and tigers in 2004.
Four of the females arrived pregnant and gave birth to 15 cubs. The
“babies” are now old enough to be considered geriatric. Remarkably, five
of the original cats we rescued are still enjoying their golden years
at our wildlife conservancy. We are proud to provide them exceptional
care.
Today, fortunately, fewer exotic animals require rescue from dire
circumstances, and many of our residents are retirees from other animal
facilities. For instance, our most recent resident came to us from the
San Diego Zoo.
We support our animals by providing educational tours, field trips, and
family-oriented events. Visitors are thrilled to meet 20 different
species of exotic animals and often tell us how happy and healthy our
animals appear, and how passionate our staff is about their well-being.
But a bill currently moving through the N.C. House of Representatives
is threatening our residents’ peaceful world. If it passes as written,
most of the 80 animals in our care could be confiscated by the end of
this year. Those for whom new homes are not found could be sentenced to
death. This includes all of our exotic cats (large and small), wolves,
and ring-tailed lemurs.
HB554 is intended to protect public safety and animal welfare, two
worthy goals we support. But instead of helping achieve these goals,
this bill actually undermines both. It simultaneously permits
unregulated, uninspected facilities to operate legally, while
prohibiting federally regulated, licensed, and consistently inspected
facilities (like ours) from operating past Dec. 1.
More than 25 USDA-licensed sites across North Carolina currently house
affected species. The only zoos in N.C. protected by this bill are the
three accredited by the AZA (a private organization with no regulatory
authority), all of which receive taxpayer funding. Our legislators are
currently poised to spend $25 million on the N.C. Zoo while
simultaneously considering a bill that would potentially shutter homes
for hundreds of animals.
The listed species could only be rehomed to wildlife sanctuaries and
AZA zoos. But our conservancy alone houses more big cats than the three
North Carolina AZA zoos combined, so we doubt they can offer homes to
all. We are also unsure how this bill will impact our tigers currently
on loan to one of these zoos, the Greensboro Science Center.
We are equally concerned that wildlife sanctuaries would be forced to
close if prohibited from engaging in commercial activities. Those
offering tours could not charge admission, a critical source of income
that supports the animals’ care.
Ending our own tour business would cause layoffs and economic ripple
effects. More than 14,000 visitors toured our conservancy in 2014, but
that doesn’t just benefit our bottom line. This program, supporting our
animals’ care, is also the main impetus for a $1.8 million impact on our
region by the organization’s spending and because of visitors
patronizing nearby businesses.
USDA licensing is only required for facilities engaging in commercial
activity, therefore, some that currently offer animal rescue services
and public tours under a USDA license would no longer be inspected and
licensed under this bill. But they could still continue housing animals
and accepting new rescues! Do you want to live near an unregulated
big-cat sanctuary?
This legislation would require at least $250,000 in liability
insurance, which makes sense. But the required deductible is capped at
$250 — which does not. That’s why such a policy doesn’t seem to actually
exist. The state would have to compel insurance companies to make this
coverage available, and the rates on a policy with these parameters
would likely be prohibitively expensive. We currently carry a much
larger policy, with an appropriately higher deductible.
The effective date for the law does not allow time for compliance. Even
with considerably more lead time, a similar bill in Ohio led to an
unfortunate standoff; at least 10 confiscated exotic animals have been
living in 200 square-foot indoor holding pens since January, fates
hanging in the balance as lawyers sort out details not appropriately
considered when the bill was written.
We strongly support appropriate regulation. But we cannot condone
legislation that chokes licensed businesses out of existence, removes
regulatory oversight from facilities that house large predators, and
potentially forces healthy animals to be euthanized.
An exemption for all USDA-licensed organizations is a critical starting
point for a bill that actually protects public safety and ensures
animal welfare. If you agree, please contact your state representatives,
whom you can find at www.ncleg.net. You can view the bill and learn more at our website, www.ConservatorsCenter.org.
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