A Congressional Hearing on HR 669, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act, took place on April 23. As it turns out, not much came of the hearing except agreement from nearly all involved that the bill needs a lot of work before it could ever become law. I recently wrote about why this piece of legislation is worrisome for the pet industry, and also the reasons why this bill was written in the first place. A summary of the hearing, written by Christie Keith, can be found on Pet Connection, while her "live" blog written at the hearing is over at Pethobbyist.com. Or, if you want to see the hearing you can watch a video of the webcast (or just listen to the audio if you prefer) at The Committee on Natural Resources site.
I think the general outcome of the hearing was a relief, in terms of recognizing that the bill needs a lot of work, but there is a long way to go. While there is a push to add ferrets, guinea pigs, gerbils and hamsters to the default acceptable list, that would still leave a whole pile of pets that would need specific approval to be listed as acceptable. On the other hand, perhaps the legislation will be deemed so unworkable that it will simply fade away. What do you think about the outcome of this hearing?
Comments
THANK GOD THAT IS STILL A GOOD WILE I WILL BE ABLE TO STILL PURCHASE, PYTHONS, TEGUS, MONITORS AND PARROTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO IF THEY’RE NOT COMMING TO AN AGREEMENT MEANS THE BILL NEVER PASSES THAN I HOPE THEY STAY DEAD LOCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The news sounds great but this should be stayed on top of. Sometimes its the insane ideas that become reality. With so many bigger problems in our lives it’s hard to believe that this is time worthy. All pet lovers should keep informed. Today it might be your guinea pig, tommorrow it could be your cat or dog.
Diane is right. We do need to stay on top of this bill. In California it is illegal to own a ferret, but it’s legal in 48 states (also banned in Hawaii). We have been having an ongoing battle for several decades now. But I also agree with Diane in the fact that with all the other problem in this country, especially the financial strain on our current economy, why are these people worrying and wasting our money with laws regarding animals? They don’t seem to learn their lesson do they? We have people without jobs or in fear of loss the ones they have, people who are barely getting by with their finances, and businesses closing down right and left. There are more than enough problems for them to deal with besides which animal stays and which animal goes!! These people really need to learn their priorities!!
Honestly im glad it wasnt passed, a pet for most people are usually animals that express themselves is some way, if we are limited to what we can have they might as well ban all pets possible. Variety is the best thing we have as rights to be able to have what we desire. everyone is different so why should we only be able to have a certain pet.