Just before leaving office, former Ohio governor Ted Strickland enacted a fast and wide-sweeping
ban on exotic pets that made many reptile keepers criminals. The 90 day emergency order is expiring; what is new Governor John Kasich doing about it?
From the
Middletown Journal:
Gov. John Kasich “supports the regulation of dangerous wild animals to ensure the public’s safety and animals’ humane treatment,” Jones, added. The governor “also believes any new regulations should be developed in a transparent way with input from the public and those who have interests at stake.”
The Humane Society of the United States said Monday that data collected from news reports and government documents indicate Ohio ranks fourth among the 50 states in dangerous incidents involving big cats, bears, and primates. Since 1990, at least 29 people in Ohio, including eight children, suffered injuries and one person was killed. It urged Kasich “to move quickly to issue regulations that will restrict the sale and possession of dangerous wild animals.”
Notice the danger from reptiles was never addressed, but they were added in with the other exotic pets. This leaves reptile owners hoping Kasich is not as easily swayed by animal rights lobbying groups and can stand up for pet owners.
Who determined this statistic? HSUS? With the way H$US has cleverly worded this statement, it is made to sound as if exotic pets in Ohio are an epidemic in the state and nationally. However, they conveniently fail to mention the number of deaths that have actually occurred in Ohio, which was four based on what I have been told from those in the Buckeye state. Intellectual dishonesty? Lying by omission? You decide.
I hope Governor Kasich takes to the advice of Senator Tom Carlson from Nebraska and exposes H$US's actions as the "deceptive, unethical, overreaching, and unscrupulous" tactics that they are...
http://journalstar.com/news/unicameral/article_aee9ea3c-e0be-58d8-9c27-9b8538eec0d5.html
PEOPLE WILL ONE DAY LEARN NOT TO TRUST THE GOVERNMENT!
Being a exotic pet owner sounds safe to me.