Republican senator targets potentially dangerous exotic pets
by
Emily Hamer
·
Oct 19, 2015
For those who can’t decide between a dog and a lion for their next furry companion, this new bill should help narrow it down.
A state bill from Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, would ban private
ownership of potentially dangerous exotic pets — including nonnative big
cats, apes and alligators — in residential areas, unless under a
specific exemption, Wanggaard said.
Wanggaard said many times people don’t understand exotic pets are wild animals, and are therefore dangerous. “Wild animals are still wild animals,” Wanggaard said. “Even though
they might be friendly with someone they know very well, they’re still a
wild animal. [This bill is] about understanding the dangers of those
animals.”
Wanggaard said local law enforcement officers brought the exotic pet problem to his attention.
If exotic pets escape into the public, police are stripped of
resources, Wanggaard said. If a police officer has to search for a
dangerous exotic pet, they cannot focus on their usual duties. The lack
of records on exotic pets also inhibits police work, he said.
This past July, what appeared to be an African lion was on the loose
in Milwaukee. Between 20 and 30 officers were taken out of service in
attempts to locate this large feline, Wanggaard said.
Wanggaard said if exotic pets had been registered in Milwaukee,
officials might have been able to locate the lion. Law enforcement could
have talked to registered owners of large felines in the area, found
which specific lion was missing and located it faster, Wanggaard said.
The lion sighted in Milwaukee was never found.
Certain organizations would be exempt from the legislation, including
zoos, animal rehabilitation clinics and accredited licensed exhibitors.
These organizations already have regulations in place — such as
requirements for appropriate enclosures and medical care — to ensure
owners are properly caring for exotic animals.
But the bill also has a “grandfathering in” clause that would allow
current exotic pet owners to continue owning their pets as long as they
get a permit from the state, which Wanggaard said would help to identify
where exotic animals are in Wisconsin.
Adam Roberts, spokesperson for Born Free USA, said Wisconsin is one
of only five states in the nation that lacks legislation for regulating
exotic pets, and Wisconsin has an “exotic pet problem” in comparison to
most other states. “Individual states like Wisconsin … have to do more to stop the trade in particularly dangerous animals,” Roberts said.
Roberts said exotic pets pose a number of problems. Wild animals’
health can be compromised by efforts to make them more domesticated,
exotic pets can endanger owners who may not know how to properly train
them and, if exotic animals escape, they can cause serious injury to the
public or become an invasive species, Roberts said.
But Zuzana Kukol, president of Responsible Exotic Animal Ownership, said the danger of exotic pets gets blown out of proportion. “People are scared of the unknown,” Kukol said. “Exotic animal attacks are very rare, which makes them newsworthy.”
Kukol said one person dies by captive big cats in the U.S. per year,
while 45,000 people die in traffic accidents and 25 to 30 people are
killed by dogs. Exotic pets are not a public safety issue, Kukol said.
Besides the recent Milwaukee lion, Wanggaard pointed to a case two
years ago where several alligators, crocodiles, large snakes and a
venomous Gila monster were found in a Kenosha resident’s backyard. These
reptiles had the potential to seriously injure someone, Wanggaard said,
but fortunately, the Racine Zoo took the animals into custody.
But Kukol said isolated incidences of poor exotic pet care do not
represent the majority of responsible exotic pet owners. Kukol said most
exotic pets are small, easy to care for and not dangerous. Some wild
animals need to be taken in when their habitats are encroached on by
humans, Kukol said.
Since Wanggard’s bill focuses specifically on potentially dangerous
animals, he said he hopes the bill will have bipartisan support as its
aim is to ensure citizens and animals are safe. “It’s not a Republican or Democrat issue to try to keep the public
safe,” Wanggaard said. “Not only is it public safety, but it’s also
about treating animals humanely.”
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