HR669 Legislation

[Mephys 2]

What is HR 669?

H.R. 669 stands for House Resolution 669 and is titled "The Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act". It is a bill currently before Congress that if passed will change the way that the US Government classifies animal species that are not native to the United States. H.R. 669 will make it illegal to breed and sell many animals that are very common in the pet trade

Why should you care about HR 669?

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 United States

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 and ferrets are not native to the US

More info on those websites

Pet Alert's report

NO HR 669

[Ban Hammer 13,631]

housecats aren't native either, are they?

[Mephys 2]

housecats aren't native either, are they?

Well for cats, dogs, and some really established pets ( I am assuming like goldfish,etc) there would be an exception list. I guess it would depend on the popularity and how widespread the specie is. Anything already legaly owned would be ok to keep, but once those pets are gone, they would no longer be available in the US because there would be no more breeding, import/export, etc.

I am personnally against any wild caught animals used as pets, but they are so many species that have been successfully captive bred for years that I would be sad to see go. It's kind of a touchy subject.

[Scott & Lai 12]

Thanks for posting this; emails sent!

As a bearded dragon and planned future tortoise owner, this bill p!sses me off

[GaryC 7]

I used to breed African Grey parrots. I would love to get another one. I would hope that domestic breed birds wouldn't be affected.

[Scott & Lai 12]

I used to breed African Grey parrots. I would love to get another one. I would hope that domestic breed birds wouldn't be affected.

Parrots of any kind are not native to the U.S., so they would be affected.

[stangguy 0]

The bill is a pretty good idea. It doesn't outright ban any animals and it requires a risk assesment to determine what animals pose a risk to the US environment. However, it gives a very short timeline to create the lists of acceptable and unacceptable animals. It also doesn't automatically include any animal. It also says that all animals have to be listed either on the acceptable or excluded list. That is impossible to do. Ultimately it is inflexible and would probably cause more problems than it solves. It also doesn't seem to have any way to modify the lists after they are created.

A better way would be to fund an initial list of allowable and excluded animals and at the conlcusion of the initial study implement the restrictions. At that time then they should also make it possible to have animals on neither list added by the person wanting to import or sell the animal. The importer/seller would have to conduct a risk assement at their own cost.

[Scott & Lai 12]

The bill is a pretty good idea. It doesn't outright ban any animals and it requires a risk assesment to determine what animals pose a risk to the US environment. However, it gives a very short timeline to create the lists of acceptable and unacceptable animals. It also doesn't automatically include any animal. It also says that all animals have to be listed either on the acceptable or excluded list. That is impossible to do. Ultimately it is inflexible and would probably cause more problems than it solves. It also doesn't seem to have any way to modify the lists after they are created.

A better way would be to fund an initial list of allowable and excluded animals and at the conlcusion of the initial study implement the restrictions. At that time then they should also make it possible to have animals on neither list added by the person wanting to import or sell the animal. The importer/seller would have to conduct a risk assement at their own cost.

Given all the bold statements, how is this bill a good idea?

Edited April 20, 2009 by Scott & Lai

[stangguy 0]

The idea behind the bill is a good idea and this one could easily be adapted to fix its deficiencies. It also hasn't even made it out of committee so it probably isn't going anywhere.

[Mephys 2]

I personally have 4 turtles, 1 boa, and I have owned African cichlids, Saltwater fish, a Ball python and a Cockatoo.

A lot of exotic animals fascinates me by their beauty, and even thought there isn't much "use" to it, I really enjoy watching them evolve, giving the fact that I put them in proper enclosures and setups I would be sad not to be able to share this with my kids in the future.

Edited April 21, 2009 by Mephys

[HannahP 119]

I imagine what the bill is trying to accomplish is to stop massive infestations of non-native animals. This is especially pertinent along the coasts -- like Florida -- where certain wildlife tends to kill and eat other certain wildlife. However, the major culprits are definitely fish breeders -- that is, people who breed certain animals to eat. Fish get into streams and kill native wildlife. This really is a huge problem that extends beyond gerbils or parrots.

I can see WHERE they're coming from, even if it doesn't totally make sense from a pet owner's point of view.

[Mephys 2]

I imagine what the bill is trying to accomplish is to stop massive infestations of non-native animals. This is especially pertinent along the coasts -- like Florida -- where certain wildlife tends to kill and eat other certain wildlife. However, the major culprits are definitely fish breeders -- that is, people who breed certain animals to eat. Fish get into streams and kill native wildlife. This really is a huge problem that extends beyond gerbils or parrots.

I can see WHERE they're coming from, even if it doesn't totally make sense from a pet owner's point of view.

I totally agree with protective native wildlife, but it that matter some more situation specific legislation would probably be more appropriate. I don't think that banning guinea pigs would help the cause there

[HannahP 119]

I imagine what the bill is trying to accomplish is to stop massive infestations of non-native animals. This is especially pertinent along the coasts -- like Florida -- where certain wildlife tends to kill and eat other certain wildlife. However, the major culprits are definitely fish breeders -- that is, people who breed certain animals to eat. Fish get into streams and kill native wildlife. This really is a huge problem that extends beyond gerbils or parrots.

I can see WHERE they're coming from, even if it doesn't totally make sense from a pet owner's point of view.

I totally agree with protective native wildlife, but it that matter some more situation specific legislation would probably be more appropriate. I don't think that banning guinea pigs would help the cause there

You'd be pretty surprised at how strong the pet lobby is! I doubt it'll pass in its current form. Have you read Mira Tweti's book on parrots yet?