It didn’t pass with a roar but it
had enough votes to get Senate and House approval during the regular
Legislative session, House Bill 4393 that would regulate the private ownership
of dangerous wild animals. We’re talking lions and tigers and bears among
others.
The bill is waiting to be signed by
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. The Humane Society of the United States
“With us being one of only six
states with zero regulations that means zero caging regulations, zero insurance
for these animals, zero veterinary regulations,” said Summer Wyatt the West
Virginia Director of the Humane Society of the United States
She said there are numerous cases
of wild animals roaming loose in the community. A pet chimpanzee escaped in
Sprague and bit two people; a rhesus macaque escaped in Martinsburg and bit two
children and a teenager, Ravenswood police issued a community alert after a resident’s
9-foot reticulated python escaped near a daycare center and elementary school.
Wyatt said West Virginia
“I, myself, have seen tigers in dog
kennels and alligators that have been let loose in public streams and parks
that have had to be euthanized because we have nowhere to take them and no way
to capture them in West Virginia,” according to Wyatt.
She stressed by having the governor
sign the bill into law, it will protect wild animals, from primates to big cats
to constrictor snakes, from exploitation.
“[This requires] having records of
where these animals are located, what their caging standards are like, when their
last veterinarian visit was.”
Wyatt said the bill protects
everyone involved and makes West Virginia
