On the evening of May 19th, at the county commissioners meeting, there were many citizens concerned about the new Exotic Animal Ordinance in attendance. Many local exotic animal owners made public comments concerning the matter. H. Houser spoke “ We all want the best ordinance.” She also voiced along with others how the content of the ordinance was “unconstitutional” and the entire proposal lacked “transparency”.
Subchapter 92.12 in the proposed ordinance amendment labels dangerous exotic animals to be
(1) Is not native or indigenous to this state;
(2) Would ordinarily be confined to a zoo;
(3) Does not have an established wild population in this State;
(4) Is not regulated by the State Wildlife Commission;
(5) Is likely to cause a reasonable person to be fearful of significant destruction of property or
of bodily harm, including, but not limited to, non-human primates, ocelots, wolves, hybrid wolves, venomous reptiles, and other such animals; or
(6) All mammals designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Agriculture or other national or state public health protection agencies as embargoed or prohibited.
The ordinance states any possession of these animals would be a violation considered to be a class three misdemeanor and would subject the owner to civil penalties.
According to county management these updates to the current ordinance had risen from an alleged attack from a primate in a public place. This incident along with one other caused the animal advisory board and animal services to start working on the ban in the interest of public safety.
Another comment made, one S. Wolffe VP of the Fancy Mouse Breeders Association urged the commissioners to seek out true experts in this field; also noting that “There is nothing wrong with the current ordinance as it stands.” J. Puttnam asked, “What is the point of the ban? Who has been killed or hurt by these animals? None that I could find.”
While there is a carve out for those who currently own exotic animals in Lincoln County, they will have to meet new requirements to continue to own their animal(s) and are not permitted to breed or to replace the pet(s) after the animal is deceased.
There were many more that spoke out against the ordinance that evening. The owner of The King’s Ranch insisted they and other exotic owners have reached out to offer help on the matter but have been met with silence.
The commissioners ultimately came to the decision to assemble an animal ordinance panel work group to discuss the matter further and to revise the ordinance if need be. Commissioner Carpenter suggested the board should be composed of 11-13 members to get outlooks from all sides. Several suggestions were made to include a vet, breeder, exotic owner, farmer, and law enforcement. The commissioners also agreed there should be citizens that specialize in various exotic animals on the board. The board will have around a 90 day work time to complete a newly drafted ordinance.
The panel was built and does contain 10 members including farmers, exotic owners, animal services, law enforcement, and a veterinarian. The panel had their first meeting on the 28th of May, and officially has 90 days to come to a revised version of the ordinance to present to the commissioners. The portions they will be discussing are the exotic animal, seizure and dangerous dogs segments of the ordinance.
We at Leap News will continue to cover this story as new information comes out.
If you would like to view the ordinance you can find it here. The portion covering exotic animals begins on page 17. https://www.lincolncountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23762/Agenda-Item---Animal-Services-Ordinances-Update
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