For those of you who live in MI, please write to your reps to not pass this. Often what happens in one state happens in others too, so we should all care even if we don’t live in MI.
From US ARK "A “dangerous reptile” bill was introduced on December 1, 2020. House Bill 6455 (HB6455) is sponsored by Representative Jim Ellison and was referred to the House Agriculture Committee.
HB6455 would classify the below reptiles as “dangerous reptiles.” The bill bans future ownership and breeding of these reptiles (except for a few exceptions including AZA zoos). It does allow a form of grandfathering (at great expense) if current owners register their animals, purchase liability insurance (which will cost hundreds to thousands annually), and comply with the stipulations included in the bill (PIT tags, inventory, caging requirements, signage, etc.)." https://usark.org/2020-mi-alert/
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“Dangerous reptiles” per HB6455:
(I) A member of the order Crocodilia, including, but not limited to, an alligator, crocodile, gharial, or caiman.
(ii) A member of the family Atractaspidae.
(iii) A member of the species Dispholidus typus of the family Colubridae.
(iv) A member of the family Elapidae, including, but not limited to, a cobra, mamba, krait, coral snake, or Australian tiger snake.
(v) A member of the family Hydrophiidae, including, but not limited to, a sea snake.
(vi) A water monitor or crocodile monitor.
(vii) A member of the family Viperidae, including, but not limited to, a rattlesnake, cottonmouth, bushmaster, puff adder, or gaboon viper.
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Thanks for the head’s up. I’m not a constituent of Jim’s, but I emailed him anyway. Did you notice the bill requires you to label your alligators as “venomous”? SMH!
How about he concentrates on that Green Ooze in Madison Heights?
My rep will be hearing from me as well…
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I wrote to our reps as soon as I saw the update from USARK. Sending out a letter tomorrow as well. Let’s hope it doesn’t pass.
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