2011 Legislation
Pa. Rep. seeks to ban exotic pets February 7, 2011
Year 2010 Issues
Important Read: EXOTIC WILDLIFE IN PENNSYLVANIA A REPORT WITH RECOMMENDATIONS JANUARY 2005 (PDF File)
<snip>Page 73
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Commonwealth’s statutes regarding exotic wildlife possession should
be amended to accomplish the following.
PROTECTION
1. For each of the three permit classifications (dealer, private possession
and menagerie), require the Game Commission to list by regulation exotic
wildlife that is prohibited (possession not allowed under any
circumstances), that
requires a permit for possession and that is allowed without a permit. The
lists
would vary in accordance with the permit classification, with that for
private
possession being the most restrictive and that for menageries being the
least
restrictive. Unlisted animals would be deemed to be forbidden. The statute
should list broad categories of wildlife that the commission must consider
under
each permit classification in specifying by regulation which particular
wildlife is
prohibited, allowed with a permit and allowed without a permit.
For example, for private possession, the statute could specify the
following broad categories of wildlife:
a. Prohibited:
i. Large carnivores.
ii. Venomous reptiles.
iii. Primates.
iv. Any other category the commission deems appropriate.
b. Permit required:
i. Large omnivores or herbivores.
ii. Any other category the commission deems appropriate.
c. Permit not required: Not applicable. A permit shall be required
for the private possession of any wildlife not on the prohibited list.
2. Require the Game Commission to review the lists periodically (e.g.,
annually or biannually) and authorize the commission to amend the lists by
regulation on its own initiative or upon petition. Require the commission to
develop a procedure to be followed in reviewing and amending the lists,
including
consultation with the Departments of Agriculture and Health and holding a
public
hearing. Require an individual or organization seeking to possess an animal
not
included on a statutory list under the appropriate ownership category to
file a
petition with the Game Commission to add the animal to one of the lists.
Authorize the commission to add the animal that is the subject of the
petition to
the appropriate list under each of the three permit classifications even if
the
petition involved only one classification.
3. Require a permitee to annually notify local emergency response
agencies of all dangerous animals possessed.
4. Require a permittee to promptly report the escape of a dangerous
animal to the commission and local law enforcement officials. Require the
commission to immediately notify the Departments of Agriculture and Health
of
the escape.
5. Authorize the commission to establish an advisory committee to help it
with decisions related to the regulation of exotic wildlife or to anything
within its
purview.
6. Require the commission to establish a public education program to
explain permitting requirements simply and concisely and provide a phone
number and e-mail address to be used to obtain more information or
clarification.
This program should include developing informational brochures (as detailed
on
pp. 64-65, for example) to be distributed by the commission and by counties
and
private organizations. The information should also be provided on the
commission’s website.
PERMITTING
FEES
1. Require the Game Commission to establish permit fees for exotic
wildlife by regulation.
2. Provide for the repeal of the statutory permit fees upon the
promulgation of the commission’s permit fee regulations.
3. Require the commission to review permit fees periodically
(e.g.,
annually or biannually) and authorize the commission to increase the fees by
regulation as necessary to better balance the costs and revenues related to
exotic
wildlife. This same approach could also be considered for all other special
permits the agency might use (e.g., those currently identified in 34 Pa.C.S.
§
2904).
It is justifiable to increase permit fees, as the Commonwealth has not seen
an increase in any of the permits related to exotic wildlife in at least 22
years. Act
60 of 1982 marked the introduction of “wildlife dealer” and “wildlife
possession”
permits and set the annual fees at $500 and $200 per animal, respectively.
Act 60
of 1982 also raised the menagerie permit fee from $15 to
$300. The increase in
the menagerie permit fee in 1982 was the last increase in the permits
related to
exotic wildlife. In fact, since 1982, the fees for all three permits have
decreased,
retroactive to the 1981-1982 permit year. Exotic wildlife dealer decreased
from
$500 to $200, exotic wildlife possession decreased from $200 per animal to
$50
per animal and menagerie decreased from $300 to $100.
The budget information presented in the second chapter of this report
demonstrates that the Game Commission is able to devote very little
attention to
exotic wildlife and loses at least $113,175 annually regulating it. Staff
from the
commission and the Governor’s Special Advisor on Hunting, Fishing and
Conservation emphasized that it is unfair to rely solely on hunters (through
hunting license fees) to pay for the Commonwealth’s involvement with exotic
wildlife maintained in captivity. Clearer regulating authority alone will
not result
in more vigorous enforcement of laws and regulations regarding exotic
wildlife.
Adequate funding is essential to a sincere effort to improve regulation in
this area.
4. Authorize the commission to correlate the amount of a permit fee to the
number of individual animals involved or the number of species involved or
both.
5. As detailed in the budget chapter of this report, legal training and some
other enforcement expenditures cannot be determined for exotic wildlife.
Therefore, require the commission to adopt accounting practices that enable
it to
more precisely determine all the costs and revenues involved with the
oversight of
exotic wildlife maintained in captivity. The agency could use this
information
during its periodic review of permit fees.
<snip>
Year 2009 and before
PETITIONS: Legalize Primates and Sugar Gliders in Pennsylvania
Nanday Conures will not be banned, primates remained on ban list 1/29/2008
Current Regulations:
Chapter 147 - Special Permits
Game and Wildlife Code (Title 34)
The Pennsylvania Game Commission Members
GAME COMMISSION POSTS AGENDA FOR JANUARY MEETING ON WEBSITE January 27-29, 2008
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners will hold its first meeting of 2008 on Jan. 27-29, in the auditorium of the agency's Harrisburg headquarters at 2001 Elmerton Ave., just off the Progress Avenue exit of Interstate 81 in Harrisburg.
For those who can't
appear, submit written comments before 1/27/08.
Pennsylvania Game Commission
2001 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797
(717) 787-4250
pgccomments@state.pa.us
January Commissioners Meeting Agenda PDF, 5MB
from page 39
<snip>
G. Amend 58 Pa. Code, §137.1.
Commentary: Currently, §137.1 requires a person importing lawfully acquired
wildlife,
or parts thereof, for menagerie, educational or scientific purposes to
obtain an importation permit, but does not require an importation permit
for exotic wildlife dealer or exotic wildlife possession permit holders. In
an effort to create consistency in the regulations and increase the
Commission’s capabilities to address wildlife epidemiological concerns,
the Commission is proposing to amend §137.1 (relating to importation,
sale and release of certain wildlife) to specifically require propagation,
exotic wildlife dealer and exotic wildlife possession permit holders to
acquire an importation permit prior to importing any wildlife into this
Commonwealth.
The Commission is also proposing to amend §137.1 to
prohibit the importation, possession, sale and release of all non-human
primates and the Conure-Nanday, sometimes referred to as the Blackhooded
Parakeet, in response to human health/safety and wildlife habitat
health purposes.
CHAPTER 137. WILDLIFE
§137.1. Importation, possession, sale and release of certain wildlife.
(a) Unless otherwise provided in this section or the act, it is unlawful for a
person to import, possess, sell, offer for sale or release within this
Commonwealth the following
wild animals or wild birds or the eggs of the birds or a crossbreed or hybrid of
the wild animals
or wild birds, which are similar in appearance:
(1) In the family Felidae. Species and subspecies, except species
which are commonly called house cats which may be possessed but not released
into the wild.
Lawfully acquired bobcats – Lynx rufus – may be imported and/or possessed by
licensed
propagators specifically for propagation for fur farming purposes. Importation
permits and
transfer permits as mentioned in subsections (d) and (e) are not required for
bobcats imported for
propagation for fur farming purposes. Bobcats imported under this exception and
their progeny
may not be sold or transferred for wildlife pet purposes or released into the
wild.
(2) In the family Canidae. Species and subspecies of the coyote, the
red and gray fox and a full-blooded wolf or crossbreed thereof not licensed by
the Department of
Agriculture. Lawfully acquired coyotes and red or gray foxes may be imported
and/or possessed
by licensed propagators specifically for propagation for fur farming purposes.
Coyotes and red
and gray foxes imported under this exception and their progeny may not be sold
or transferred
for wildlife pet purposes or released into the wild. This subsection does not
permit the sale for
release or the release of the mammals into the wild.
* * * * *
<snip>
The order Primates. All families of non-human primates
<snip>
In the family Psittacidae. The Monk Parakeet, Myiopsitts monachus, sometimes
referred to as the Quaker Parakeet or Gray-headed Parakeet, and the
Conure-Nanday, Nandayus
nenday, sometimes referred to as the Black-hooded Parakeet.
<snip>