Have any of you heard of HR 669?
This is a horrible federal bill that will cause problems for not only keepers of tropical fish or reptiles, but also those of you that have any non-native birds such as guineas, peacocks, or even some types of quail. It also impacts those who keep alpacas or any other non-native animal, by requiring that animal to be "whitelisted" before it is allowed to be kept.
You can read more about the bill, as well as see the actual text of the bill, here:
http://www.pijac.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=504
Currently, the bill as-written allows only the following non-native animals to be kept, imported, or transported across state lines:
any cat (Felis catus)
cattle or oxen (Bos taurus)
chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)
dog (Canis lupus familiaris)
donkey or ass (Equus asinus)
domesticated members of the family Anatidae (geese)
duck (domesticated Anas spp.)
goat (Capra aegagrus hircus)
goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus)
horse (Equus caballus)
llama (Lama glama)
mule or hinny (Equus caballus x E. asinus)
pig or hog (Sus scrofa domestica)
domesticated varieties of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
sheep (Ovis aries)
As you can see, all pet birds, many animals used in farming, and all tropical fish are excluded from the list. The risk assessment process used for getting such species "whitelisted" is over-simplified and doesn't account for the social tradition of keeping such species in captivity.
Please read over the information in the link and consider writing your representative to OPPOSE HR 669. This impacts every segment of the agricultural and pet industry and needs to be shut down or amended.
This is a horrible federal bill that will cause problems for not only keepers of tropical fish or reptiles, but also those of you that have any non-native birds such as guineas, peacocks, or even some types of quail. It also impacts those who keep alpacas or any other non-native animal, by requiring that animal to be "whitelisted" before it is allowed to be kept.
You can read more about the bill, as well as see the actual text of the bill, here:
http://www.pijac.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=504
Currently, the bill as-written allows only the following non-native animals to be kept, imported, or transported across state lines:
any cat (Felis catus)
cattle or oxen (Bos taurus)
chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)
dog (Canis lupus familiaris)
donkey or ass (Equus asinus)
domesticated members of the family Anatidae (geese)
duck (domesticated Anas spp.)
goat (Capra aegagrus hircus)
goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus)
horse (Equus caballus)
llama (Lama glama)
mule or hinny (Equus caballus x E. asinus)
pig or hog (Sus scrofa domestica)
domesticated varieties of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
sheep (Ovis aries)
As you can see, all pet birds, many animals used in farming, and all tropical fish are excluded from the list. The risk assessment process used for getting such species "whitelisted" is over-simplified and doesn't account for the social tradition of keeping such species in captivity.
Please read over the information in the link and consider writing your representative to OPPOSE HR 669. This impacts every segment of the agricultural and pet industry and needs to be shut down or amended.
