Attack on Exotic Cats dies in Washington Legislature
Tracy Wilson, FCF Director of Conservation, said the FCF applauded the many Washington state representatives who protected exotic animals and the rights of their owners.
Exotic animal owners breathed a sigh of relief after the Washington
legislative season ended without a bill passing that owners say would have
halted conservation efforts and forced good owners to give up their
animals.
“This was very harmful legislation," Lynn Culver said about HB
1511. “We are very pleased that legislators listened to the message of the
exotic animal community."
Culver is Legal Affairs Director for the
non-profit Feline Conservation Federation, an organization that supports private
ownership and responsible captive husbandry.
Culver said she and FCF
blame the news media for "generating a moral panic" over exotic animal
ownership.
“Someone like Antoine Yates, the New York apartment-dweller
who kept an adult tiger and a five-foot caiman, is unusual," she said. "He was
bizarre. That makes him news.”
“The media focus on people like him and
ignore the thousands of normal exotic animal owners.”
Tracy Wilson, FCF
Director of Conservation, said the FCF applauded the many Washington state
representatives who protected exotic animals and the rights of their owners.
“The exotic animal community wants every animal to enjoy a safe and
happy life with a loving and responsible owner,” she said.
"The choice
under this bill was either placing them in already overloaded sanctuaries ...
or, worse, forced euthanasia. That motivated animal lovers to unite and speak
out against this bill.”
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/2/prweb105659.htm