Congressional Hearing Banning Nonnative Species April 23 Action Needed

[Critter Mom]

This is what I received today about it in a newsletter (mostly aimed about sugar gliders), but you can see the impact that this bill would apparently have should it be passed:


Pending Legislation ALERT: H.R. 669
==========================
by Lisa

Doesn't our government have more important things to concern
themselves with than what type of pets we keep? H.R. 669 proposes
sweeping changes that could potentially make all of us criminals
in the eyes of the law. While this resolution still has a ways to
go before becoming law, now is the time for us all to speak up and
make sure this resolution does not get out of the committee stage.

This legislation may not only impact the right to keep exotic
animals, but ANY animal that is not native to the United States. The
hearing will take place on April 23, 2009, so PLEASE access the
list of Congress members linked to this article and LET YOUR VOICE
BE HEARD. Here are details on the proposed legislation known as
H.R. 669 and what WE ALL NEED TO DO to stop the insanity!

I found a very good summary of the resolution on the Pet Industry
Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) website (copied below):

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

Anyone with pet fish, birds, reptiles, or small mammals will be
affected by this bill. Any company selling product or services
for pet fish, birds, reptiles or small mammals will be affected
by this bill. Would you be impacted by "The Nonnative Wildlife
Invasion Prevention Act"?

* Virtually all fish in an aquarium are not native to the US
* Most pet birds are species not native to the US
* Most reptiles kept as pets are not native to the US
* Hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, ferrets (Lisa adds: and sugar
gliders) are not native to the US

This bill would ban nonnative species not specifically approved
by US Fish & Wildlife Service. AND, it does NOT only ban their
importation, it also bans sales, transportation and breeding of
these animals.

* If you own a bird, reptile (or sugar glider) and your specialized
veterinarian is located across the state line from your home,
you would be prohibited from taking your pet to its veterinarian

* If you own two fish and they have babies, you would be in violation
of this law and your pets could be confiscated and destroyed

* Don't plan on moving to another state with your pet. Crossing
state lines with your hamster, fish, bird, snake or other nonnative
animal will be illegal

I can understand restrictions AND bans on species that are
dangerous. Here's the reality of the situation. Should a bill of
this nature pass, there are a lot of people that would rather set
their animals free than risk having them all put down. It seems
to me like legislation of this nature is akin to using a nuclear
bomb to kill a cockroach. So there are a few irresponsible people
out there who've done something either knowingly wrong, or did not
understand the consequences of their actions. And now our government
wants to intervene on one of our most basic and fulfilling freedoms.

I can't imagine a life without pets. Sure the bill does not appear
to affect the keeping of dogs, cats, rabbits and livestock, but
where does it stop? If this government committee gets its way
on this, then who's to say that certain breeds of dogs commonly
pointed to as untrustworthy, such as Rottweilers and Pit Bulls,
aren't next? What about dogs that have mixed breed backgrounds and
have some percentage of "bad dog blood" in them?

I'm sorry to pick on the rotties and pits, as I don't personally feel
this way. I'm an avid dog lover and I suspect my "mostly Labrador"
may have a smidgen of chow chow in her as her dad, who looked all
lab, had a few black speckles on his tongue.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE LETTERS TO THE COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF THIS
RESOLUTION. REMIND OUR CONGRESS MEMBERS THAT THEY SHOULD FOCUS ON MORE
IMPORTANT MATTERS OVERSHADOWING OUR COUNTRY RIGHT NOW, NAMELY THE ECONOMY.
REMIND OUR CONGRESS MEMBERS THAT THE PET INDUSTRY IS A MULTI BILLION DOLLAR
CONTRIBUTOR TO OUR ECONOMY. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, REMIND THEM THAT OUR PETS
ARE OUR BEST FRIENDS AND THEY STICK WITH US IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD. THEY
BRING US COMFORT, JOY AND UNCONDITIONAL AFFECTION. OUR PETS MAKE EVERYTHING
FEEL RIGHT WHEN OUR CORNER OF THE WORLD DOESN'T FEEL SO RIGHT!

Please access this document on the PIJAC website for a list of the
Congressional members on the Committee involved with this bill, and
e-mail or write them your thoughts on this bill - here's the link
(this is a PDF file):

http://www.pijac.org/files/public/669_Short_W_Comm.pdf

Also, please let your own representatives (if not on this list)
know how you feel about the direction of this legislation.

'Til next time, in good health for you and your gliders, we sign
off in appreciation of all of you who share great glider adventures
with all in the community!

---->=< ---->=< ---->=< ---->=<
GliderVet Newsletter Your resource for safety first, expert advice
on our sugar glider friends!
---->=< ---->=< ---->=< ---->=<

That's it for this month's GliderVet Newsletter. I hope you liked
what we had to offer! If you have any stories, questions, pictures,
suggestions for topics - anything glider -you would like to share
or see covered in the GliderVet newsletter, please send them here:

mailto:lisa@sugar-gliders.com

If you liked the newsletter and know someone who might benefit from
reading it, why don't you forward this one to them right now while
you are thinking of it? Instructions to subscribe or get off the
list are listed just below.

To Subscribe, send any e-mail to:
mailto:glidervet-on@mail-list.com

To Leave the list, send a blank message to:
mailto:glidervet-off@mail-list.com

General GliderVet Newsletter Info:
http://www.sugar-gliders.com/sugar-glider-letteradmin.htm

Viva La Glider!

Lisa
SunCoast Sugar Gliders

------------------------
To change subscription email address,
send a message to:
mailto:glidervet-change@mail-list.com

with your old address in the Subject: line

To contact the list owner, send your message to
mailto:glidervet-list-owner@mail-list.com


SunCoast Sugar Gliders, Inc. 6822 22nd Avenue N #192 Saint Petersburg, FL 33710


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[Critter Mom]

From the actual proposed bill and what it would entail:


TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 3 > § 42
Prev | Next

§ 42. Importation or shipment of injurious mammals, birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibia, and reptiles; permits, specimens for museums; regulations

How Current is This?

(a) (1) The importation into the United States, any territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States, or any shipment between the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States, of the mongoose of the species Herpestes auropunctatus; of the species of so-called “flying foxes” or fruit bats of the genus Pteropus; of the zebra mussel of the species Dreissena polymorpha; and such other species of wild mammals, wild birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibians, reptiles, brown tree snakes, or the offspring or eggs of any of the foregoing which the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe by regulation to be injurious to human beings, to the interests of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife resources of the United States, is hereby prohibited. All such prohibited mammals, birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibians, and reptiles, and the eggs or offspring therefrom, shall be promptly exported or destroyed at the expense of the importer or consignee. Nothing in this section shall be construed to repeal or modify any provision of the Public Health Service Act or Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Also, this section shall not authorize any action with respect to the importation of any plant pest as defined in the Federal Plant Pest Act,[1] insofar as such importation is subject to regulation under that Act.
(2) As used in this subsection, the term “wild” relates to any creatures that, whether or not raised in captivity, normally are found in a wild state; and the terms “wildlife” and “wildlife resources” include those resources that comprise wild mammals, wild birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), and all other classes of wild creatures whatsoever, and all types of aquatic and land vegetation upon which such wildlife resources are dependent.
(3) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Secretary of the Interior, when he finds that there has been a proper showing of responsibility and continued protection of the public interest and health, shall permit the importation for zoological, educational, medical, and scientific purposes of any mammals, birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibia, and reptiles, or the offspring or eggs thereof, where such importation would be prohibited otherwise by or pursuant to this Act, and this Act shall not restrict importations by Federal agencies for their own use.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the importation of dead natural-history specimens for museums or for scientific collections, or the importation of domesticated canaries, parrots (including all other species of psittacine birds), or such other cage birds as the Secretary of the Interior may designate.
(5) The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior shall enforce the provisions of this subsection, including any regulations issued hereunder, and, if requested by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Treasury may require the furnishing of an appropriate bond when desirable to insure compliance with such provisions.

(b) Whoever violates this section, or any regulation issued pursuant thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
(c) The Secretary of the Interior within one hundred and eighty days of the enactment of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 shall prescribe such requirements and issue such permits as he may deem necessary for the transportation of wild animals and birds under humane and healthful conditions, and it shall be unlawful for any person, including any importer, knowingly to cause or permit any wild animal or bird to be transported to the United States, or any Territory or district thereof, under inhumane or unhealthful conditions or in violation of such requirements. In any criminal prosecution for violation of this subsection and in any administrative proceeding for the suspension of the issuance of further permits— (1) the condition of any vessel or conveyance, or the enclosures in which wild animals or birds are confined therein, upon its arrival in the United States, or any Territory or district thereof, shall constitute relevant evidence in determining whether the provisions of this subsection have been violated; and
(2) the presence in such vessel or conveyance at such time of a substantial ratio of dead, crippled, diseased, or starving wild animals or birds shall be deemed prima facie evidence of the violation of the provisions of this subsection.

 

[Critter Mom]

How can we afford NOT to act on this NOW??

Think of all the amphibians we won't be getting, and all the stores that will be going out of business.

Can we afford to have MORE people LOSE THEIR JOBS??

 

[josh1990]

This in nonsense. Thousands if not millions of people would be out of a job and people denided the right to maintain animals in their own homes. I wonder how many species of aquarium fish are native to the U.S.? But oddly enough caged birds are permitted. Have they ever heard of the European starling or english sparrow which now outcompete our native species such as bluebirds and woodpeckers.
Idots, plain and simple. A big backlash needs to happen.

Josh

 

[Otterwoman]

HI Crittermom,
It's too late to write letters now but you can still email (read above for direction).

Josh, a big backlash DOES need to happen! That's why this thread has been pushing for us all to write letters and ACT!

 

[Critter Mom]

HI Crittermom,
It's too late to write letters now but you can still email (read above for direction).

Josh, a big backlash DOES need to happen! That's why this thread has been pushing for us all to write letters and ACT!

Bingo!! That's what I have been trying to get everyone to realize. I have emailed already, but we can apparently email every day, and can even call our Representative toll-free. Also, it is helpful to take a moment and email everyone you know about it with the link so they too can email their Representative, and hopefully get this bill to be put down before it makes it into law! It is (the way it is written) going to severely impact every single one of us here eventually, and countless others. We won't be able to trade or anything. (What about when we run out of amphibians? Not allowed to breed, trade, or purchase them?) Practically everything we do here as a hobbyist will be illegal. I don't want that! We are only PART of who will be affected...

Might not hurt to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. I bet they have not followed this at all. Heck, until some other people I have just heard of the other day wrote in, their Rep. didn't even know about the bill at all!

 

[Otterwoman]

Might not hurt to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. I bet they have not followed this at all. Heck, until some other people I have just heard of the other day wrote in, their Rep. didn't even know about the bill at all!

Excellent suggestion!

 

[i_love_necturus]

I highly recommend this site, http://www.nohr669.com/ as it as an easy way to find and send e-mails to your representatives. You just type your zip, it finds your Rep. then write your letter in the box along with name, address etc and it automatically sends the e-mail to your rep. This is very quick and easy and it is perfect as the time window is slowly closing. Please check it out

 

[SludgeMunkey]

I cornered my representative at the pitiful local "tea party" the other day. (and please, do not get me started on how inane that entire concept is...I went only because I knew this idiot would be there...) He was less that pleased about it, even though I was congenial and professional about the topic. He explained he is completely for this bill. I then asked if this was the will of his constituency or the will of the chimpanzee attack fueled media. I was then asked to leave...

Congress gets started back up tomorrow. I suggest you guys watch the TV death that is C-Span to keep tabs on this. If we are lucky, like most votes directly after a long congressional golfing break, most of the congressmen will not even bother to show up, let alone vote.

Today, the 20th, is your cut off for e-mails and letters. They will not even get opened by worker drones before the vote.


One thing I do suggest is to continue sending professionally written letters and e-mails to this dingbat from Guam. PETA is in her pocket and she does not even represent an actual state.

 

[Otterwoman]

I then asked if this was the will of his constituency or the will of the chimpanzee attack fueled media. I was then asked to leave...

That is SO cool...you are AWESOME!! I can't even remember the last time I was asked to leave somewhere...

 

[merk199]

Got my auto-rote response from my Congressional delegate. Boy he broke the bill down for me. I was writing him with my opposition and why not please explain the bill. Anyways I guess I won't be voting for him next time since he or his workers can not even read the email and figure out my opposition and why. Its ok if he understood my position and wanted to vote for the bill as long as he explained why he was in favor.....

Dear Richard:

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to H.R. 669, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act. I appreciated hearing from you.

As you may know, H.R. 669 would require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a process for assessing the risk of all nonnative wildlife species proposed for importation into the United States. As part of this process, the Secretary would be required to develop a list of species approved and unapproved for importation. H.R. 669 would also prohibit the possession, purchase, sale, or breeding of nonnative species that are not approved by the bill.

Please be assured that I will keep your concerns in mind as the 111th Congress moves forward.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me in the future with any further questions or concerns.


Sincerely,

John W. Olver
Member of Congress

 

[Otterwoman]

Here's the response I got today:

April 21, 2009


Dear Ms. Osselmann,

Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 669, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.

H.R. 669 requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a process for assessing the risk of all nonnative wildlife species imported into the United States. The Secretary must consider many factors, including the native range of the species and whether the species has caused any harm to the economy, the environment, other animal species, to human health, and the likelihood of the species spreading within the United States. The bill makes exceptions for scientific research, accredited zoological or aquarium display purposes, or for educational purposes that are specifically reviewed, approved, and verified by the Secretary. It also designates the Invasive Species Council established by Executive Order 13112 as the National Invasive Species Council.

As I consider the world we will leave our children and grandchildren, I believe that we must preserve the natural environment, including threatened and natural species, for future generations. I will keep your thoughts in mind as Congress decides how best to protect our environment. H.R. 669 has been referred to the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, where it is awaiting further action.

Again, thank you for contacting me. If I can assist in any other way, please do not hesitate to contact me.


Sincerely,

John Hall
Member of Congress

 

[supergrappler]

I got this email from Exo-Terra today, hope it helps some of you guys.

Please Contact Your Congressional Representative Today!!
Click on the Link Below to Contact Your Representative

Write Your Representative​

Representative Offices
​

Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z.
http://www.house.gov/bordallo/IMA/issue.htm

Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] –
http://www.house.gov/abercrombie/e_form.shtml

Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] –
http://cohen.house.gov/index.php?option=com_email_form&Itemid=111

Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4] –
http://www.house.gov/formdefazio/contact.html

Rep Faleomavaega, Eni F.H. [AS] –
faleomavaega@mail.house.gov.

Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] –
http://www.farr.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=202

Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] –
WASHINGTON
2252 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
tel: (202) 225-5931
fax: (202) 225-0182

Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] –
DC Office:
1440 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
ph (202) 225-2435
fax (202) 225-1541

Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] –
https://forms.house.gov/alceehastings/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] –
Washington Office:
Office of Rep. Hinchey
2431 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6335
Fax: (202) 226-0774

Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] –
http://holt.house.gov/contact.shtml

Rep Kagen, Steve [WI-8] –
http://kagen.house.gov/contact.shtml

Rep Kildee, Dale E. [MI-5] –
Washington, D.C.
2107 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-3611
202-225-6393 fax

Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3] –
http://kind.house.gov/?sectionid=18&sectiontree=18

Rep Klein, Ron [FL-22] –
http://www.klein.house.gov/?sectionid=4&sectiontree=4

Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] –
Washington, D.C. Office
2444 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2661
Fax: (202) 225-9817
Hours of Operation: 9am - 5pm EST

Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] –
Washington Office
438 Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6101
Fax: (202) 225-5759

Rep Miller, George [CA-7] –
http://georgemiller.house.gov/contactus/2007/08/post_1.html

Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] –
http://www.napolitano.house.gov/contact/feedback.htm

Rep Pallone, Frank, Jr. [NJ-6] -
WASHINGTON, DC
237 Cannon Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3006
Phone: (202) 225-4671
Fax: (202) 225-9665

Rep Sablan, Gregorio [MP] –
https://forms.house.gov/sablan/contact-form.shtml

Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] –
Washington DC Office:
2263 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Ph.: 202-225-5161
Fax: 202-225-5163

 

[merk199]

Good to see that our Congressional members seem to be into plagarism in writing the responses. It seems almost word for word until he talks about his grandkids. They must be getting a ton of letters. I will be curious to see how this all turns out....

 

[Jake]

It really seems like neither of your letters were read by the congressmen. Say this does pass, how will they know if I I let my animals breed (which is what they were born to do)? Is someone going to come to my house and count my newts every month to be sure I don't have any extras? Do they have newt experts that can accurately identify every species I have and know they are not native to the country? Will every box sent through the post office, fedex, or UPS be searched to see if they contain exotic animals? If I go to Wisconsin, will my car get searched to see if I'm smuggling smoothe newts?

Clearly those congressmen don't understand the size of the exotic animal market. Passing this law will just increace the price of exotic animals and the trade will be more or less like drug trafficking. What ever happened to "the land of the free"?

I'm prepared to pack up my collection and RUN for the hills if this happens! (hills in my state of course)

 

[Socrates]

Dude I totally agree with you. When you already have so many people participating in the exotic animal market and then cut it off what happens? And like you said, it will make the prices go up and there will be dealings going on. It's only human nature to still do something after it's made illegal, but especially in this case when it is something people have been doing for years. It would be like going to dog breeders and saying, sorry it's illegal to bread dogs because there are too many dogs in shelters. It's stupid.

 

[JWERNER]

Not to discourage anyone from taking actions they feel necessary ( by all means do what makes you happy ) but this is something that has been a endless cycle for years if not decades.

I feel highly confident that this bill much like the others before it will not pass or it would have in the past one of the many times it had a even greater chance. This revised bill of many others is even more outlandish.



What are they going to do about the economy? The Pet Trade is as essential as a grocery store. Many people have pets of some kind and need to frequent pet shops weekly or even more just like it is a necessity that we go to a grocery store!

News of this is honestly everywhere. I dont know what it is. Is it the fact that people in our country are becoming more and more fed up with our Government pushing us around or is it the fact that its just worded differently to sound more threatening.

federal Gov will have just the same handle over the illegal activities as the State does. You will have the same jokers doing the same stupid stuff.

This will be a huge step away from our freedoms. I may dissagree with the way our Goverment works and handles some situations but I will not once believe they will start taking away our freedoms if there is no true justifiable cause and in my eyes they do not need to step in on this.

 

[Critter Mom]

I have not received a response yet...

Lets me know how important "the people" are to "my Representative". How nice.

I REALLY hope this does not pass!! Most people I talk to have no idea what I am even talking to when I bring it up!! How frustrating is that?!? Trying to get them to believe it is a real threat is even harder... UGH!!! Some people have listened and "haven't had the time to do anything about it" and they say something that rediculous won't pass anyway, so I should not waste my time. These days, you just NEVER KNOW...

 

[Melmo]

I've been very upset with this bill. I've e-mailed and spread the word of this bill. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I too am curious of how they will know if you had bred your animals, whether it was accidental (Hamsters) or on purpose. I hope it does not pass, it is a multi-billion dollar industry they hurt, in a time of economical crisis.

 

[SUZY]

I've been on the horn for 2 weeks myself, and I've heard nothing. Iwas also at the pet store today picking up supplies, and they new nothing of what was going on. A big chain too!! Now how is that, and this will definately hit them as well.