Bill description:
This bill would direct the Commissioner of Agriculture to change the list of dangerous wild animals that cannot be owned without a permit. Specifically, it would remove the following animals from that list: servals, genus Pteropus (flying foxes, fruit bats, raccoon dogs, etc.), anacondas and pythons, birds, amphibians, crayfish, snails, and mollusks.[teaserbreak]
Background:
This list of prohibited species was created by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, which passed in 2014. Narrowing the list of prohibited species weakens the law. It should not be legal to keep any wild or exotic animal as a pet – they belong in the wild, period.
Check out our page on exotic pets for more details on why private ownership of wild animals is both cruel and dangerous.
Take Action:
West Virginia residents, contact your state senator and delegate and urge them to oppose this legislation!
Read the full text and follow its progress here for the Senate version and here for the House version.