Surprise, your neighbor has a pet tiger (by the way, the tiger has escaped!)
October 10th, 2007 by admin
When the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission met last month in St. Petersburg, they voted 6-0 to reject a proposed rule that would have required people who apply to possess Class I wildlife to notify their neighbors. (The FWC classifies wildlife according to the danger they present to the owner and the general public; examples of Class I wildlife include bears, tigers and large primates.) It seemed like a reasonable proposal to us. Whether or not people will be happy about living next to a potentially very dangerous animal, they at least deserve to know about it. Following the meeting, the St. Petersburg Times published an editorial in which the paper said the vote defied logic and the arguments of exotic animal owners were “so ridiculous it takes a bite out of common sense.”
The commissioners did agree to consider a watered-down rule that would require neighbors to be notified only in case of an escape. This week the FWC held workshops in Gainesville and Fort Lauderdale to hear from the public. At last night’s meeting, ARFF urged the FWC to reconsider its opposition to the original proposal. Several owners of exotic animals who spoke at the meeting supported our position, although unintentionally.
Roger Newson, who keeps tigers at his home in Fort Pierce, argued that notifying neighbors in the event of an escape could cause panic. He added that doing so promptly would be difficult- he joked about punching numbers into his cell phone as he chased his tiger through the woods.
We agree that a family should not learn that their neighbor has a tiger in his backyard only when the animal is already roaming the neighborhood. Once an escape has occurred, it is too late to talk with loved ones about what to do in the event of an emergency.
The FWC will discuss the issue again at their December meeting (Dec. 5-6 in Key Largo). Please e-mail the Commissioners and urge them to take another look at the original disclosure proposal. Explain that if protecting public safety is the goal of the proposal, notifying neighbors before an escape would be better.
Contact: Commissioners@MyFWC.com