Congress wants to take away pets!!!!
 

I received this in my email and am so sad about this.

On April 23rd, Congress will begin hearings on Bill HR669 which would change the concept of pet ownership as we know it. If this bill passes in its current form, all "non-native species" would be banned until the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service specifically approves them.

Consider that hamsters, gerbils, guniea pigs, ferrets, most pet birds, nearly all fish, and most reptiles kept as pets are non-native species! This bill would require each species to be extensively studied for its environmental impact before it would be put on an "Approved List" ~ an expensive, time-consuming requirement that would have be to be done by an agency without the funds or manpower to accomplish it. While pet lovers wait for a species to be placed on the "Approved List", the pet would be banned from importation, sale, transportation and breeding. If you already owned the pet (or two of the same species), you would be violating the law just by traveling to another state with your pets or if your pets had babies!

Scuffy Pet Center is concerned about protecting our environment from invasive species, but we believe this bill goes too far as it is presently written. We believe that responsible pet ownership is key, and that each state should be allowed to determine what is acceptable within its own borders. After all, what might be harmful in Hawaiian waters would not be harmful in the deserts of Arizona or Texas. We believe that current regulations are suitable and should be funded so that they can be enforced.

There is an excellent video that describes HR669 in more details. You can watch it for yourself by going to the following site:

What can you do to voice your concern?
1) Contact members of the subcommittee – both in Washington, DC and in your district offices. Let them know you don’t want them to ban your pets and this bill goes too far. Contact them as often as you'd like beginning April 17th (when they return from recess) and April 23rd (when they will begin hearings on the Bill).


2) Although a letter drafted from scratch is taken most seriously by the representatives, you can show your concern by using a short-cut at the following website:
NO HR 669

3) Alert everyone you know and ask them to stand up and be counted.
We'll keep you posted as we get more information about the status of this Bill.

Don't they have anything else to do up there???

Hey, not sure if you saw this...it was added not long ago.
Going forward, if you would like to open a discussion about a bill, please either post the content of the actual bill into the first post or paste the link, via the bill's state, into the post. Please do not post an interpretation of the bill from an organization that already has a formed opinion regarding the bill; this does not foster discussion of the actual merits of the bill.

thank you here is the link to the bill http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...h669ih.txt.pdf

As a tortoise and hamster owner.. I am not happy about this bill.. Seriously they really have nothing to do but come up with bills like this?? This means so much more jobs will be cut and stores to shut down. Hobbyist cannot even enjoy what they like to do as far as even keeping a reptile, bird, fish, and etc...

Hmmmm I don't think the president's dog is native to the US.

Thanks for the link! :thumbup: :)

Hmmmm...I don't really think it would change anything too drastically. It seems to be geared towards animals that would be classified as harmful, dangerous, etc. I wouldn't think that would include most pets we are accustomed too (hamsters, etc). They've been around for ages and don't pose any kind of threat to humans or the environment...

Maybe they are trying to crack down on illegal importation of exotic birds etc and the things they carry.

That's what it sounds like...

Invasive species can play havoc with native animals. Consider the burmese python, which is over-running the Florida Everglades, eating native species, some of which are endangered. People buy these creatures as pets, and when they get too big, they let them go.

I think that protection of native species is the rationale behind such laws.

I seriously doubt we will see any dog breed banned---all dogs are the same species.

If gerbils and hamsters could potentially become invasive, wouldn't you think they would have already done so? Probably millions have escaped their cages/homes over the last 50 years.

I can understand banning certain species, but to go to the point where pet shops would have to close down is ridiculous.

I am a gerbil owner, and also my son owns a giant African millipede. I am also a big fan of Betta fish, and have owned many throughout my life. I was recently thinking about getting one. I better make sure I get one in the next 10 days just in case.

This is certainly a lot to take in. If it passes, it will be a sad day for many people.

My daughter had 2 African millipedes for a long time. (Legs and Corduroy). Talk about some cool pets! Actually, being referred to as "African" millipedes is a bit misleading--they are actually indigenous to several parts of the world...including the eastern US. :cool:

As far as gerbils and Beta fish and getting to the point that pet shops would have to close down, doubt that's going to happen. Like you said, those 'pets' have been around for a while. I believe this is geared more towards a ban strictly towards a very different kind of potentially harmful species...read carefully what the proposed act states:

does not include any cat (Felis catus),
8 cattle or oxen (Bos taurus), chicken (Gallus
9 gallus domesticus), dog (Canis lupus familiaris),
10 donkey or ass (Equus asinus), domesticated
11 members of the family Anatidae (geese), duck
12 (domesticated Anas spp.), goat (Capra aegagrus
13 hircus), goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus),
14 horse (Equus caballus), llama (Lama glama),
15 mule or hinny (Equus caballus x E. asinus), pig
16 or hog (Sus scrofa domestica), domesticated varieties of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), or
18 sheep (Ovis aries), or any other species or variety of species that is determined by the Secretary to be common and clearly domesticated.

Wouldn't you think gerbils and hamsters and beta fish and cockateils and the likes are considered "common and clearly domesticated?"

I doubt this stops the sale of small domesticated animals. You know we have a problem when someone owns a chimpanzee that rips someones face off. So I can see why congress might want to define what kind of pets people should own. I am stating this and I have a turtle that I bought at a pet store and now it is illegal to sell them.

Just to add...

For the most part, these very same "laws" already exists. All it's basically doing is redistributing which government agencies are responsible for enforcing the regulations AND estabilishing guidelines for stricter records regarding importations. Currently, there are very few government agencies that control animal importation--the CDC & US Fish & Wildlife Svcs. Basically, the only restrictions are against 1) animals that carry disease and 2) any marine animal deemed harmful to the environment. Thats it...pretty minimal, and NOT in a good way! The act basically is calling for the inclusion of other, more distinct agencies in the process--Ivasive Species Council, Dept of Agriculture, etc. In short, agencies that have a more distinct expertise in the area that should have been invovled from the very beginning.

This act is not a "bad" thing...and it's certainly not something that's ultimately going to restrict you from owning your pets....unless maybe your pets consist of venomous snakes or bizarro unknowns.

Hamsters etc won't over run anything. If a cat doesn't eat them or not to mention dogs, birds and snakes they could freeze to death. That's how we got our last hamster. Our daughter went to someone's house who didn't want theirs anymore and was going to turn it loose in the back yard. It was early spring here and she knew it would freeze that night. So she brought it home and we had it almost two years before it passed away. Now she wants a Guinie(sp) Pig and soon she will want another Beta as this one is on it's last fin. I can't believe how long he has lived and I hope he makes it till she gets back from out of town. I hate to be the bearer of bad news like that. Pet stores make mistakes all the time and sell two hamsters etc stating they are both the same sex and the next thing you know there are babies. If they no longer bring furry little guys like that in there will still be plenty to go around. The birds I totally understand, they go through horrid conditions to be brought into the US to be sold as pets (if they survive the trip). I think all snakes should be in any other country but the US. Sorry, not a snake fan I lived with rattle snakes etc for to many years in the AZ desert.