Exotic animal owner's under attack in Ohio!!

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amberthe bobcat

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Just F.Y.I. it is believed a bill will be introduced in the Ohio senate at the beginning of February. Don't know what is/will be in it yet, but I will post as soon as I get the information. One thing is for sure, a WAR is about to begin in Ohio.
 
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amberthe bobcat

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An update on the Ohio (HSUS) encouraged bill. The bill was supposed to have a sponsor hearing this week, but has been delayed. Not sure why, some say it is not complete yet, but I also heard there was a dispute between the Senator introducing the bill and the Governor, which could be a bad thing. As it stands now, it looks like I will be grandfathered in, but without seeing the bill, no one knows for certain and this delay may mean something has changed. I read the bill in it's current form, but I have to wait now to see what has changed. Once I get the final draft, I will post it here for everyone to read the nonsense for themselves.
 

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Oh, John.  I am sorry.  I could not read the entire article statement that you posted; it was too upsetting for me.  I know it doesn't change the fact that something awful happened, but things like that stay with me forever.  Exotics are banned in my county, but not in NC as a whole.  It all started with a liger and some wolves.  (The last I heard, the liger was living safely in another state.)  My dream of a Savannah is probably out unless I move (though Bengals are allowed...I don't think the people who made the rules are quite sure exactly what qualifies as an exotic animal).  My friend had to say her hybrid wolf was a husky in order to keep him and obtain vet care.  The vet knew the truth, but had to have the animal listed as a dog.  Anyway, this is my long way of saying that I would be happy to contact the Ohio Governor's office.

And thank you, Carolina, for posting a link to the bill.  It is quite shocking.  I can understand no crocodiles, but even a Ball Python would be illegal if I am reading correctly.
 
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amberthe bobcat

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The link that Carolina posted is not the actual bill that is going to be introduced. It was a house bill HB that was prematurely written. The bill that is going to be introduced is a senate bill SB. I also see that Jack Hanna is opening his big mouth once again. What angers me about this?? He is NOT an Ohio resident and should have NO say whatsoever on what the residents in Ohio do and decide to keep as pets.Same with HSUS. Sadly, people listen to both these pieces of trash who have no knowledge on exotic animal ownership. Jack Hanna does not, he is just a TV celebrity who looks like a total fool when around animals. HSUS has no animal experience of any kind and no knowledge on how to care for exotics. I have 9 years of wildcat ownership experience. I have a mentor who has 25 years experience. I completed a wildcat husbandry course, I am a member of a few professional organizations (the FCF, Feline Conservation Federation, ZAA Zoological Association of America) and have been a volunteer at a USDA licensed facility for the past 7 years. So why does good ol Jack Hanna and HSUS think I as well as others, should not be able to live our lives with these animals??
 
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amberthe bobcat

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Well folks who care. This may very soon, be the last time I post here about this. In short, the bill that is trying to be shoved down our throats by HSUS and JACK HANNA...Yes, Jack Hanna, if it passes in current form, will be the end of my cats lives. There are things in the bill, the way it is written that NO ONE will be able to comply with. They say current owner's will be grandfathered, but that is a lie. So if it does pass in it's current form (which we are fighting to change or stop) I will only have a few choices. 1) Move out of state which would mean, trying to find a new job, buying a place to live with my animals and selling my current home, which we know at this time will be almost impossible. 2) Having my animals ripped from their home and taken to a place I will have no control over or 3) Having all of them PTS!! Wow, have to love the choices I have to make living in a so called, free country!! Thank you HSUS and JACK HANNA and to all that support them. If this bill passes, you are the reason my cats will die!! Sorry to be so blunt, but it is the truth.
 
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jennyr

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I am so sorry to read this thread, John. Living in Europe, there is nor much I can do in a practical sense, but I feel for you and hope that there is some way out of this for you and your animals.
 

crickets mom

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John, I realize you are going through a lot right now, and I know you, and other exotic animal owners would say and do anything to keep your babies safe.  Pit bull owners understand what it is like to have our breed of choice targeted.  It is pure prejudice.  That is why I was offended at your friends choice to single out his neighbors dog in his letter.  There is already "Breed Specific Legislation" targeting pit bulls in Ohio, and different areas all over the world.  You guys are fighting to prevent specific legislation targeting your breed of choice.  By your friend attacking dogs in general, and pit bulls specifically, he is throwing blame in the wrong direction.  We, as pet owners, are the ones who have your back. I understand that your friends neighbor seems to be a negligent owner. That is not his dogs fault.   Your friend says in his letter that the dog is "naturally" mean.  This is just not true.  I gaurantee that had the dog been raised in a loving and nurturing environment, it would not behave like that.  Bad owners equal bad pets, no matter if they raise a dog, or a bobcat.  As pit bull owners, we are constantly fighting bans.  Maybe if more animal owners stood up and supported pit bull bans, we would not have a precedent to let "them" decide what animals we can own.  We all, as animal owners, need to fight "Breed Specific Legislation", because you never know when your pet will be the next to be targeted.    
 
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amberthe bobcat

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Actually, Pit Bull owner's in Ohio are no longer under attack. Pit Bulls have been removed from the "dangerous" animal/dog list. As for what my friend stated-  "I had to fence in our yard with a foot wooden privacy fence to prevent my neighbors pit bull from killing our dogs because our neighbor keeps his pit bull on a 6 foot chain, and the dog is constantly breaking the chain. The dog gets no attention. It is naturally mean and will attack anything that it sees. The police have done nothing to stop this".
 He is NOT stating that Pit Bulls are naturally mean, but that his neighbors dog is natually mean due to the poor condition the dog is kept in. Tied up on a 6 foot chain and never getting any attention.
 
 
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Willowy

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Actually, Pit Bull owner's in Ohio are no longer under attack. Pit Bulls have been removed from the "dangerous" animal/dog list. As for what my friend stated-  "I had to fence in our yard with a foot wooden privacy fence to prevent my neighbors pit bull from killing our dogs because our neighbor keeps his pit bull on a 6 foot chain, and the dog is constantly breaking the chain. The dog gets no attention. It is naturally mean and will attack anything that it sees. The police have done nothing to stop this".

 He is NOT stating that Pit Bulls are naturally mean, but that his neighbors dog is natually mean due to the poor condition the dog is kept in. Tied up on a 6 foot chain and never getting any attention.
That's not "naturally mean", that's "mean due to bad circumstances". It certainly does sound like he's picking on pit bulls.

I agree that it's mighty hypocritical for someone to whine about being persecuted for his choice of pets while simultaneously calling out others for their choice in pets. And pointing out the damage dogs can do isn't going to help your case any. It's more likely to get large dogs AND exotics banned. I hope he didn't release that letter to anyone in authority.
 

carolina

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Classic example of wrong placement of the word "naturally", IMHO.

"I had to fence in our yard with a foot wooden privacy fence to prevent my neighbors pit bull from killing our dogs because our neighbor keeps his pit bull on a 6 foot chain, and the dog is constantly breaking the chain. The dog gets no attention. It is naturally mean and will attack anything that it sees. The police have done nothing to stop this".

Had he just changed to:

"I had to fence in our yard with a foot wooden privacy fence to prevent my neighbors pit bull from killing our dogs because our neighbor keeps his pit bull on a 6 foot chain, and the dog is constantly breaking the chain. The dog gets no attention. Naturally, It is mean and will attack anything that it sees. The police have done nothing to stop this".

I think he would had expressed himself better (I do think this is what he meant, that due to the circumstances the dog is mean.....), and this wouldn't be an issue.
 
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amberthe bobcat

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Carolina, exactly. It was a word placed in the wrong spot etc. Didn't proof read or whatever before posting. And yes, pointing out the damage that dogs can do does help our case. The point being, all animals can and do bite etc. Not just exotics. The thing is this. If my neigbor's dog would bite someone (as with my friend George, my neighbor keeps their dog tied up on a chain in the front yard 24 hours a day. It is a mixed breed). Sure, a police report can be made and the dog owner would/could be responsible for the bite. Lets say the dog bites a kids hand and causes a minor injury. Would you hear of this in the news?? No way, unless that kid was mauled my the dog. However, lets say that same kid somehow managed to stick their hand into my bobcat enclosure and got bit, same injury as the dog bite, so all things are equal here. (however this would be impossible unless someone cut the perimeter fence) Would we hear of this in the news?? YOU BET!! And people would be calling for a ban on exotics!! So that is why my friend used dogs as an example. He is not calling for a ban on dogs or saying that dogs are bad (he owns many dogs himself). No one is calling for a ban on ANY breed of animal here. His statement is used just to show the bias placed against exotic animal owners and the false info used to get these animals banned. I also want to point out that I am a member of an organization in Ohio that supports ALL animal ownership and this same group was the one who pushed hard to get pit bulls removed off the dangerous animal list.
 
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amberthe bobcat

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I have an update. Of course no one was listening. Even though the people AGAINST the bill SB310 outnumbered the people for it 30-40 to1. On all the days that I attended the senate hearings that lasted until approx 6pm, only 5 people testified for it and the rest of the day was person after person after person who testified AGAINST it. Sadly, the senate voted for this ban bill. What really angers all of us, is that while the opponents testified against the bill, the senators who should have been listening to us, got up and walked out, talked amongst themselves and really did not give a s---!!!! The Senator who introduced the bill, Senator Balderson, he himself got up many times and left the room. Now it is understood, that some of the senators have other things they have to vote on etc, but senator Balderson should have remained there at all times. This is his bill (well not his, he did not write it, HSUS did) so he should have been there for every single testimony. They never asked any questions of the people who testified against it, but always asked questions of the people who were for it. Why you may ask? Because we know their minds were made up and even though we have no proof, we know darn well they have been paid off by someone. I know who, but will not say here. We DO however, have written proof that the GOVERNOR himself, was paid off. That is why he is pushing so hard to get this bill to pass. Now, the bill is going before the house. We do have a better chance in the house and we have a strong plan. I won't say what it is here, because I know there are numerous HSUS supporters here or some that may read these posts. SB310 is a bill written by HSUS, there is no question. The part that EVERY PET OWNER OR ANIMAL LOVER MUST TAKE NOTE. This bill is targeted at ALL animals and to eliminate ALL animal ownership. How do I know this? Very simple. One line of the bill gives the director of the ODA (Ohio Department of Agriculture) to add ANY animal he/she feels is dangerous at any time after the bill becomes law (if it does) That means, if some HSUS person gets that position, they can add any animal at will. Farm animals, domestic dogs, cats etc. And if that is not proof enough, domestic hybrid cats are already on the list!! Bengals and Savannahs would be banned!! But as stated, we do have a very strong plan now for the house, we will see how that goes. If all else fails and the bill passes, we are already set to file a lawsuit against the state because many parts of the bill are unconstitutional and also not legal. I won't go into that part yet either. So, we will see what happens next!!
 
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amberthe bobcat

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Ok everyone. This is our last chance. If you care about my cats, please do me a favor. No matter where you live, please write to the Ohio house of represtatives asking them to vote NO on Senate Bill 310. Next Tuesday, it goes before the full house and will likely be voted on. If it passes, it is all over.

The link below is the list of all Ohio Representatives.

Thank you!!
https://statich.thecatsite.com/4/4d/4d29b6cb_HouseofRepresentativesEmailList1.pdf
 

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OH my.... Mike, I am sorry about this and will be writing to the Ohio reps. to please vote NO on this bill. I am so sad for you, deeply so. Massive, Mega vibes to you that this will NOT PASS.... :cross: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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amberthe bobcat

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Thank you for your help. Here is what will happen next. If the bill does pass the house, it will now go back before the Senate, because the house amended the bill. And if it gets amended again in the Senate, I think it will go back before the house. More to follow as this continues....
 
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amberthe bobcat

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Well, the HSUS sponsored and PAID bill SB310, has PASSED!!. If you support HSUS, you supported this animal death sentence!! However, it is not over yet. Because Ohio and it's animal owner's will not be pushed around by HSUS or anyone. There is a next step that we are already taking, won't go into it in detail yet, because I know there could be HSUS people here and not giving them any info. Yes, the bill was signed by the governor, but the fight has now taken a new turn.

While all this was going on, I also had my local non profit, local humane society agent come to my house. No complaint, nothing, just said he heard that I have exotic animals and he wanted to see my setup. I told him NO, you will NOT be allowed on my property and you have no authority. I also told him I know the call came in by HSUS. He was adv if he steps onto my property again, legal action WILL be taken and he was also advised that he is messing with the wrong person. I already called my local sheriff and my ODNR officer who is an official law enforcement officer in charge of inspecting my cats, not a local humane agent who is not affiliated with the government in any way.
 

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Never ever support the HSUS. They are exactly like PETA only wearing 3 piece suits. My money will and does go to my local shelter.....
 

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Mike, I am sick to my stomach that this has happened, this bill has passed. I am so worried about you and your cats. Please know I am praying for all of you. The stress and concern you must be dealing with now, more than ever. :shame: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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