Update: Sadly, this legislation did not complete the legislative process prior to adjournment.
Bill Description: If passed, this legislation will ban the future private possession of dangerous wild animals as “pets,” including lions and other large wild cats, wolves and other wild dogs, bears, nonhuman primates, venomous snakes, and birds. Persons possessing a dangerous wild animal prior to the effective date of the act would be allowed to keep the animal if a permit is obtained. Dangerous wild animals possessed in violation of the law would be subject to confiscation. The bill does not apply to accredited zoos, licensed exhibitors, animal shelters, animal control, wildlife rehabilitators, and accredited wildlife sanctuaries.
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Dangerous wild animals belong in their natural habitat and not in the hands of private individuals as “pets.” By their very nature, these animals are potentially dangerous and do not adjust well to a captive environment. Across the country, many incidents have been reported where exotic animals held in private hands have attacked humans and other animals, or have escaped from their enclosures and freely roamed the community. One incident in 2006 in Sikeston involved a boy who was attacked by a “pet” vervet monkey living in neighborhood. And in December 2005 a St. Louis man was bitten by his cobra as he tried to feed the animal. The American Veterinary Medical Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all oppose private possession of certain dangerous wild animals.