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Category Archives: Laws

Bob Kennedy leaving Maria Mitchell Association

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Bob Kennedy, director of natural sciences for the Maria Mitchell Association, has resigned and will leave the organization in the fall.

During his eight-plus years with the MMA, Kennedy has overseen a number of research projects, including more than eight ongoing ones related to the Nantucket bay scallop. Other projects include studies of snakes, beetles, barn owls, horseshoe crabs, fungi and the travels of Mr. Hannah, the Nantucket osprey who carries a GPS transmitter.

Kennedy will move to New Hampshire in the fall to be with his family. His wife, Anne Broussard, was recently named chair of the Department of Social Work at the University of New Hampshire. Over the next several months, he will continue with his work at the MMA while exploring off-island research opportunities.

Missing tortoise found

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A giant tortoise that was stolen from a home in East Albany has been recovered.

The 19-year-old, 110-pound African tortoise disappeared two weeks ago from its pen on Peter Lowry’s property. Lowry is a tropical bird and reptile breeder.

Lowry called WCAX News Friday to report that the tortoise is back home. He was contacted by people who had acquired the tortoise from someone else and didn’t know it was stolen.

Vermont State Police are still investigating the case.

City considers stepping up oversight of exotic pets

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Columbus residents who enjoy the company of gators, boas, wallabies and other less-than-traditional pets might soon face stricter oversight from the city. The Board of Health will consider a proposal that more explicitly details what animals the city wants to oversee, then would require permits for those animals and for the stores that sell them.

Details are being worked out, including the cost of the permits, which would be less than $100, city officials said this week.

City rules already call for permits for some of these kinds of pets, but the rules are vague and not strongly enforced, said Roger Cloern, assistant health commissioner. This is an attempt to provide clarity to the public and pet-store owners and more closely monitor the animals in Columbus, he said.

Only about 50 pet owners have permits, and those were prompted by resident complaints, said Columbus Public Health spokesman Jose Rodriguez.

Some unusual pets are becoming more popular, including backyard chickens, he said. In the past two years, the city has had 127 complaints about chickens and other fowl.

One concern about some pets is the potential for illness transmission, said Dr. Aaron K. Messer, the city’s public-health veterinarian.

About 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases originate with animals, he said. In 2003, two Ohioans were sickened with a disease called monkeypox, which was believed to have come from a wallaby and a prairie dog.

Columbus Public Health officials are eager to hear from pet owners and others before the board votes this summer, Rodriguez said.

The department has reviewed similar regulations in other cities, including Cleveland, Albuquerque, N.M., and Portland, Ore.

At this week’s city Board of Health meeting, Terry Wilkins, owner of Captive Born Reptiles, questioned the Columbus proposal. He has stores on Morse and Refugee roads and sells alligators, large snakes and other pets.

The pets he sells have not caused injuries or deaths, Wilkins said. He worries about harassment of pet owners and is upset that the business community was “deliberately kept in the dark” about the effort, he said.

Christopher Eaken, who also spoke to the board, said the proposal would be hard to enforce and that the city would be better off spending time and money on other things.

Pet owners would have to apply for an annual permit, which would be issued by the city on a case-by-case basis through a process that could include a home visit to make sure the owner has appropriate accommodations for the pet, Cloern said. If an animal is to be kept outside, neighbors would be surveyed, Rodriguez said.

The pet-store owners who sell the affected pets would be responsible for making sure customers have the required permits before taking the pet home. Only a handful of pet shops in the city would needs the permits, he said.

Department officials hope that people who already have pets that require a permit – and those who buy pets outside the city – would seek permits as well, they said. If those pets come to the attention of Columbus Public Health, the staff would approach the owners about getting a permit, Cloern said.

Feds investigating mailed ferret, snakes from Lynchburg

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ROANOKE – It gives new meaning to the phrase “You’ve got mail.“

United States Postal Inspectors say someone tried to mail a live ferret from Appomattox to Puerto Rico.  But before the package got out of Virginia, a postal service worker noticed something was wrong.

At the Lynchburg Post Office, the box started moving.  After obtaining a search warrant to open the package, investigators got quite a surprise: “Stamps” the ferret was inside.  Inspectors say Stamps’ inability to stay still might have saved his life.

“I’m really not sure what the effect of that whole trip would’ve had on him.  I’m not sure if he would have made it or not,“ said Craig Bradley, who along with his wife Jane, adopted Stamps.

Photos from the Postal Inspector’s office show someone stuffed Stamps into a makeshift cage, doped him up on Benedryl, and tried to mail the ferret to the U.S. Territory.

The Postal Inspector handling the case, David McKinney, believes whoever tried to mail Stamps knew they were up to no good.  The return address on the package is an abandoned house, and the sender doesn’t exist.

Ironically, McKinney says during the same month three years ago, and from the Lynchburg main post office, a man mailed an eight-foot-long python and a second snake to a customer in Kansas.  The python escaped in a truck.  The mail carrier found it on top of the mail.  Another postal worker who just happened to be a snake wrangler, caught the python, then put it in a bag.

The pictures McKinney sent of the snake case show just how large the snake was.

McKinney says both cases are equally strange, but he does not believe the cases are connected, outside of the Lynchburg main post office.

The Bradleys still need to take Stamps to a veterinarian to get him checked out.  The check-up will test Stamps for a disease similar to parvo in dogs.  If the test comes up negative, the Bradleys plan to get Stamps acclimated with some of the 15 other ferrets they have in their home.

The Bradleys volunteer at the Big Lick Ferret Shelter and Hospice in Roanoke.  Craig Bradley says Stamps’ muscle structure is strong, and teeth appear in good condition, so he believes whomever had Stamps before mailing him took good care of the ferret.

The Bradleys also believe Stamps playful demeanor should serve him well when it comes to getting along with others.  The couple estimates Stamps’ age at two-years-old.

———

5:45 p.m.

ROANOKE – A Roanoke couple has adopted the ferret.  It’s name is Stamps.

They plan to take it to the vet soon and hope to acclimate it with the other ferrets they own.

The couple, Craig and Jane Bradley, also help out with the local group Big Lick Ferret Shelter and Hospice.

The Bradleys say Stamps looks great.  Craig Bradley whomever took care of Stamps before probably didn’t abuse him.

I talked to the postal inspector handling the case, David McKinney.  McKinney told me he’s been able to rule out a man who mailed those pythons to Kansas back in 2007 as the person who mailed Stamps.

McKinney said that whoever mailed Stamps went to a lot of trouble to cover their tracks, meaning they probably knew what they were doing was illegal.

McKinney said the return address was an abandoned home and the sender’s name was phony.

DC Man Kills Son’s Lizard

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A northwest D.C. man learned the hard way that animal cruelty laws include lizards.

The Washington Humane Society claimed 43-year-old Nelson Privado was angry after his son returned home late from school in October and decided to take it out on the boy’s pet bearded dragon. Privado threw Beardie across the street, killing it.
This week, Privado was convicted of animal cruelty and sentenced to 40 hours of community service, a $100 fine and one year of supervised probation. Neighbors said the crime is about more than just killing a lizard.
“Especially in front of a kid, that’s violent behavior,” said Mike Toburen. “That can be carried on generation to generation. It’s not a very good example.”
Animal advocates are outspoken about the need to stop the frequent occurrences of animal cruelty.
“We have 5 officers that are out there every day, and we investigate over 1,300 complaints a year,” said Scott Giacoppo, of the Washington Humane Society.
It’s important to catch these acts of animal cruelty so that they don’t progress, the Washingotn Humane Society said.
“Unfortunately, you know, today it was the lizard,” Giacoppo said. “Tomorrow it may be the son.”

Iguana bill makes things get a little wild in state Senate

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The date of April 20, 2010, will always be remembered in the state Senate as the Day of the Iguana, thanks to a bill brought by Sen. Buddy Shaw, R-Shreveport.

That’s when Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Livonia, strode to the chamber podium with one of the bright-green lizards on his arm in an attempt to poke fun at his colleague for offering an iguana-friendly bill.

Joining the fun, Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Kenner, attempted to pass an amendment to Shaw’s bill to protect an animal called the “nauga” so that the naugahyde seat-cover industry could continue to flourish.

Marionneaux’s real animal and Martiny’s fictitious one sent the chamber into an amusement park atmosphere.

But after all the laughs, Shaw’s bill passed 21-14, much to the approval of a young couple from Bossier City who are making a serious effort to limit a public nuisance and reduce animal suffering by decreasing the number of iguanas released into the wild by pet owners unprepared for the real responsibilities of keeping the popular reptiles.

Sara and Chris Gwerder operate Raptor Rescue, a nonprofit organization modeled after dog rescue groups to provide a temporary abode and to locate new homes for rejected or abandoned iguanas. Sara Gwerder, who testified in the Senate Commerce Committee last week, works for the U.S. Air Force.

When Shaw learned their story earlier this year he decided to file Senate Bill 368, which requires retailers selling iguanas to maintain records showing they have informed purchasers about the proper care and characteristics of the lizard, including that the animals require special diets and lighting and may carry salmonella. Customers would also be notified that iguanas can grow to six feet and become aggressive.

Retailers already are required to keep documents about sales of the reptiles.

Gwerder testified in committee that the information probably would help retailers make more sales because customers would realize they need to buy equipment to provide a healthy environment. She said she had visited some pet stores that lacked basic information about iguana care.

As for the Legislature, the iguana will get another day at least. Shaw’s bill now moves to the House for further consideration, where it likely will get a hearing in the House Commerce Committee.

Alligator found abandoned in Fargo

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FARGO, N.D. – An abandoned alligator has found a temporary home among the Bison.

The roughly 2-foot-long reptile was discovered about 6:45 p.m. Thursday outside a Fargo apartment building in the 1800 block of 42nd Street South.

The apartment’s manager called Fargo police, and the gator was kept in a bathtub until community service officers arrived, Sgt. Joe Anderson said.

City ordinance prohibits keeping exotic animals as pets, including alligators.

Anderson said police didn’t determine who owned the animal, and no charges will be filed.

“How the person came to be in possession of it, I have no idea,” he said. “I think probably the owner of it realized that at 2 feet long it’s going to get bigger and tried to get rid of it.”

Police contacted the Red River Zoo and North Dakota State University, where zoology professor Will Bleier agreed to give the gator a place to crash.

Bleier, who chairs NDSU’s biological sciences department, said it’s hard to estimate the animal’s age because gators’ growth depends heavily on how much they’re fed and at what temperature they’re kept. If it was a wild gator, he said he’d guess it was about 2 years old.

Alligators and their crocodilian cousins normally have a “rather nasty” temperament, but this gator reportedly was handled a lot and was cold and not very active when it arrived, Bleier said.

“As alligators go, it seems like it’s fairly docile,” he said.

Bleier said he placed a call to the Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton, N.D. – Director Kathy Diekman is a former student – to see if the zoo could take the alligator, but he hadn’t heard back yet.

“That’s my intent is to try to find a good home for it,” he said.

Bleier’s department is no stranger to gators. It previously had two of the reptiles as educational specimens for about 10 years.