 |
|  |
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 Welcome to Frank's Aquarium, the original online source for freshwater shrimp, crayfish, freshwater crabs, gobies and brackishwater fish.
ATTENTION ALL CONNECTICUT PET OWNERS
Due to the passage of HB-6552, as of October
1st, 2009, you will need to obtain a permit from the Commissioner of
Environmental Protection in order to
"...import or introduce into the state, or possess or liberate therein, any
live fish, wild bird, wild mammal, reptile, amphibian or invertebrate ..."
. The way I see it, this means that if you wish to
buy something from me, you'll need to get permission from the Commissioner
of Environmental Protection in order to do so. You will also need this
permit in order to possess these animals (Such
permit may be issued at the discretion of the commissioner under such
regulations as the commissioner may prescribe. The commissioner may by
regulation prescribe the numbers of live fish, wild birds, wild mammals,
reptiles, amphibians or invertebrates of certain species which may be
imported, possessed, introduced into the state or liberated therein.)
It may be that the more common pet animals will not be affected, but I would
not bank on it ( The commissioner may
by regulation exempt certain species or groups of live fish from the permit
requirements. The commissioner may by regulation determine which species of
wild birds, wild mammals, reptiles, amphibians or invertebrates must meet
permit requirements. ) This law also gives the State
the right to ban certain species. Unfourtunately, such bans are usually
based on bad or no science, such as the snakehead ban. (The
commissioner may totally prohibit the importation, possession, introduction
into the state or liberation therein of certain species which the
commissioner has determined may be a potential threat to humans,
agricultural crops or established species of plants, fish, birds, mammals,
reptiles, amphibians or invertebrates.)
Also in this bill is a list of animals that are banned from possession, some
of which are common in the trade, including Savannah cats, tarantulas,
poison arrow frogs, and scorpions. Those in possession of these animals
after October 1st, 2009, may face fines up to $2000 PER VIOLATION, PER DAY
(Any person who violates any
provision of this section or any regulation adopted by the commissioner
pursuant to this section shall be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed two
thousand dollars, to be fixed by the court, for each offense. Each violation
shall be a separate and distinct offense. In the case of a continuing
violation, each day's continuance thereof shall be deemed to be a separate
and distinct offense. ), plus they may incur fees
associated with seizing the animal(s), relocating and "disposing" (i.e.
killing) of them (The Department of
Environmental Protection shall issue a bill to the owner or person in
illegal possession of such animal for all costs of seizure, care,
maintenance, relocation or disposal for such animal.)
This law was added to a bill that had already been debated (dealing
with remote hunting and the keeping of chimps and other Hominidae as pets),
so not public comment on the anti-pet side of it was not required. I
would suggest that all Connecticut pet owners go to
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=HB-6552
to read the bill in full, and then contact the sponsors of the bill and let
them know in no uncertain terms how it affects you.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
