bitten
03-17-2005, 01:44 PM
Monkey business at State House
By ELIZABETH LEIS Staff Writer
Animal activists and breeders went bananas yesterday during a Senate hearing on a bill that would make it illegal for an individual to own or breed monkeys and other exotic pets.
More than a dozen people testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee argued over the effects of making it a misdemeanor to own or breed big cats and primates such as orangutans and lemurs.
"Let me tell you about pet monkeys," said sponsor Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr., D-Baltimore County. "They can be cute and they can be awfully vicious. They are not the cute little things you think they are."
In a list of reasons not to own a monkey, Annapolis-area veterinarian Katheryn E. Hanson said the animals are almost always torn from their mothers at birth, causing them immense suffering. They also carry risks of transmitting diseases to humans that include rabies, the Herpes B virus and monkey pox. With their scratches and bites having the potential to do intense harm, the end result makes the flying monkeys from "The Wizard of Oz" look positively innocuous.
"At puberty, they can become very aggressive ...," Dr. Hanson said. "They stop wearing diapers. It's a horrific mess."
Because the permit process for exotic pets involves several levels of government, no one is sure how many people in Maryland own exotic cats, primates or reptiles.
Richard Farinato, who directs the Captive Wildlife Protection Program for the Humane Society of the United States, cited several cases involving exotic pets, including a macaque biting a woman in 1999 in Glen Burnie and a monkey biting a girl in Pasadena in 1997.
But it wasn't the primates that mobilized opponents of the bill - it was the potential restrictions on owning reptiles.
SB 296 and a companion bill in the House, HB 339, would ban individuals from giving a home to snakes such as cobras, rattlesnakes, bushmasters and mole vipers. It would also ban venomous lizards such as Gila monsters, whose bites are rarely fatal. The bill wouldn't affect zoos, circuses and animal sanctuaries as long as the owners have the proper state and federal permits.
Michael Bell, who raises and sells Gila monsters for $1,500 in Prince George's County, was among the people who objected to the bill's inclusion of several types of reptiles. He also castigated the Humane Society for its support of the legislation.
"(They) are not qualified to make these decisions," he said. "Gila monsters make wonderful pets."
Reptile rescuer Holli Friedland of Baltimore testified that the bill was "ill-conceived and vague." She encouraged the enforcement of local and state laws already in existence.
"The reptile hobby is bigger than most people would know ...," she said. "I don't feel this law would make citizens safer."
Afterward, Humane Society representatives and the reptile devotees replied to each other's accusations in low growls outside the hearing.
"Some of the things that were said were so off the wall," Mr. Farinato said.
Still, he said the society's priority is stemming the private ownership of big cats and primates.
"If we can get primates and cats, that's OK," he said. "We want some kind of action so dangerous wild animals are banned as private pets."
The society also testified in favor of SB 347, also sponsored by Mr. Stone, which would allow a pet owner to receive up to $10,000 in compensatory damages if an animal is injured or killed. Damages would equal the fair market value of the pet and the reasonable cost of veterinary care, which supporters said could easily exceed the current limit of $5,000.
A third animal bill debated yesterday was SB 391, which would repeal the law making it a felony to kill a law enforcement animal. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Alex X. Mooney, R-Frederick, and Lisa A. Gladden, D-Baltimore, is opposed by the Maryland Sheriffs' Association and the Maryland Chiefs of Police.
The senators said the bill duplicates existing animal cruelty legislation, and that it doesn't make sense for it to be a felony to kill a police dog, but not a police officer.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/03_16-16/GOV
By ELIZABETH LEIS Staff Writer
Animal activists and breeders went bananas yesterday during a Senate hearing on a bill that would make it illegal for an individual to own or breed monkeys and other exotic pets.
More than a dozen people testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee argued over the effects of making it a misdemeanor to own or breed big cats and primates such as orangutans and lemurs.
"Let me tell you about pet monkeys," said sponsor Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr., D-Baltimore County. "They can be cute and they can be awfully vicious. They are not the cute little things you think they are."
In a list of reasons not to own a monkey, Annapolis-area veterinarian Katheryn E. Hanson said the animals are almost always torn from their mothers at birth, causing them immense suffering. They also carry risks of transmitting diseases to humans that include rabies, the Herpes B virus and monkey pox. With their scratches and bites having the potential to do intense harm, the end result makes the flying monkeys from "The Wizard of Oz" look positively innocuous.
"At puberty, they can become very aggressive ...," Dr. Hanson said. "They stop wearing diapers. It's a horrific mess."
Because the permit process for exotic pets involves several levels of government, no one is sure how many people in Maryland own exotic cats, primates or reptiles.
Richard Farinato, who directs the Captive Wildlife Protection Program for the Humane Society of the United States, cited several cases involving exotic pets, including a macaque biting a woman in 1999 in Glen Burnie and a monkey biting a girl in Pasadena in 1997.
But it wasn't the primates that mobilized opponents of the bill - it was the potential restrictions on owning reptiles.
SB 296 and a companion bill in the House, HB 339, would ban individuals from giving a home to snakes such as cobras, rattlesnakes, bushmasters and mole vipers. It would also ban venomous lizards such as Gila monsters, whose bites are rarely fatal. The bill wouldn't affect zoos, circuses and animal sanctuaries as long as the owners have the proper state and federal permits.
Michael Bell, who raises and sells Gila monsters for $1,500 in Prince George's County, was among the people who objected to the bill's inclusion of several types of reptiles. He also castigated the Humane Society for its support of the legislation.
"(They) are not qualified to make these decisions," he said. "Gila monsters make wonderful pets."
Reptile rescuer Holli Friedland of Baltimore testified that the bill was "ill-conceived and vague." She encouraged the enforcement of local and state laws already in existence.
"The reptile hobby is bigger than most people would know ...," she said. "I don't feel this law would make citizens safer."
Afterward, Humane Society representatives and the reptile devotees replied to each other's accusations in low growls outside the hearing.
"Some of the things that were said were so off the wall," Mr. Farinato said.
Still, he said the society's priority is stemming the private ownership of big cats and primates.
"If we can get primates and cats, that's OK," he said. "We want some kind of action so dangerous wild animals are banned as private pets."
The society also testified in favor of SB 347, also sponsored by Mr. Stone, which would allow a pet owner to receive up to $10,000 in compensatory damages if an animal is injured or killed. Damages would equal the fair market value of the pet and the reasonable cost of veterinary care, which supporters said could easily exceed the current limit of $5,000.
A third animal bill debated yesterday was SB 391, which would repeal the law making it a felony to kill a law enforcement animal. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Alex X. Mooney, R-Frederick, and Lisa A. Gladden, D-Baltimore, is opposed by the Maryland Sheriffs' Association and the Maryland Chiefs of Police.
The senators said the bill duplicates existing animal cruelty legislation, and that it doesn't make sense for it to be a felony to kill a police dog, but not a police officer.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/03_16-16/GOV