Laws & Regulations....

This page will be dedicated to keeping Ohioans informed of current and proposed laws & regulations.

Current Laws & Regulations being Proposed:

House Bill 45:

House bill introduced by Mr. G. Distel.

HB45 - proposes to create a registration and unfair regulations for the ownership of wild and exotic animals.  This bill is currently in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.  This is an Animal Rights extremists’ bill supported by PETA and the HSUS.

Following are the State Representatives who make up the House Agriculture Committee, which will be hearing HB45

Republicans-

Aslanides (Chair), Wagner- Vice Chair, Core, Evans, Gibbs, Goodwin, Hite, Huffman, McGregor, J., Reinhard, Schlichter, Zehringer

Democrats-

Domenick, Distel, Dodd, Harwood, Heard, Luckie, Okey, Sayre, Strahorn, Ujvagi, Yates

Here is a list of these State Representatives Addresses. For a complete list of all State Representatives Click Here for a Word Document.

Aslanides, James - Republican - District 94

77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-6014
Fax : (614) 719-6994
Email Address: district94@ohr.state.oh.us

Wagner, Jeff - Republican - District 81

Core, Tony - Republican - District 83

Evans, Clyde - Republican - District 87   

Gibbs, Bob - Republican - District 97

Goodwin, Bruce W. - Republican - District 74

Hite, Cliff - Republican - District 76

Huffman, Matt - Republican - District 4

11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-9624
Fax : (614) 719-0004
Email Address: district04@ohr.state.oh.us

McGregor, Jim - Republican - District 20

Reinhard, Steve - Republican - District 82

Schlichter, John - Republican - District 85

12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-7928
Fax : (614) 719-6985
Email Address: district85@ohr.state.oh.us

Zehringer, James J. - Republican - District 77

Domenick, John - Democrat - District 95

Distel, George - Democrat - District 99

10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-1405
Fax : (614) 719-6999
Email Address: district99@ohr.state.oh.us

Dodd, Dan - Democrat - District 91

Harwood, Sandra - Democrat - District 65

Heard, Tracy - Democrat - District 26

11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-8010
Fax : (614) 719-3580
Email Address: district26@ohr.state.oh.us

Luckie, Clayton R. - Democrat - District 39

Okey, Mark D. - Democrat - District 61

Sayre, Allan R. - Democrat - District 96

Strahorn, Fred - Democrat - District 40

Ujvagi, Peter - Democrat - District 47

Yates, Tyrone - Democrat - District 33

Please Contact these Representatives who are hearing this bill in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and let your voice be heard. Also, let your District Representatives know how you feel. With a combined effort of Ohioan voters opposing this Bill and others like it we can defeat it and maintain our rights as Americans.

Do you Support Animal Rights Groups such as PETA, HSUS, or API?

You need to know the Truth about these Organizations!!!

Today, animal rights extremist organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Animal Protection Institute (API) are flooding state offices with often false stories of neglect and abuse.  Does this mean that it doesn’t happen?  There are always bad apples, and those who love animals hate to hear about neglect and abuse more than any other.  These organizations themselves have been convicted of cruelty and abuse to animals.  Their appeals for donations do not reveal that animals are helped.  Instead the money supports huge political agendas and in many cases animal terrorism and the harassment of owners and animals.

The HSUS is linked to many different organizations that appear to be helping animals by taking your money. The truth is, they are not. Check out some of these links - You just may be supporting a domestic terrorist group!

Link between HSUS and ALF - Animal Liberation Front

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article4048.html

An Example of what ALF does - rather you agree with animals being used for research or not, I don't think this type of action against it is acceptable - 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/plasmid/entries/2007/11/05/scientist_bites.html

Do you give to this site? It is part of HSUS - No money goes to save animals!

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

There are other links below concerning HSUS and PETA - 

Legislation should strive to protect the rights of citizens and the freedom to engage in pursuits that bring happiness.  Enacting ban laws, or in the case of HB 45, legislation that is so restrictive that it results in the forfeiture of these animals, is not good for the conservation of animal species.  By regulating specific animals, the current HB 45 would affect the entire animal and agribusiness industry:  veterinarians, feed stores, farm supply stores, pet shops, lumber and hardware stores, hunters, sporting good stores, animal breeders, brokers, conservation programs, rescues, etc.

Due to a national push by the radical animal rights agenda that seeks to eliminate all contact with animals in our society, it is very important that the public understands the value and importance of private sector animals.  HB 45 pushes for only American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) accredited facilities to be the ones able to own certain exotic animals. AZA accredited facilities are those such as the Columbus Zoo, but not all zoos hold this accreditation. AZA facilities reserve their cage spaces for endangered animals that are involved with their Species Survival Plans (breeding plans) and these cage spaces are limited.  For most species that are rare and threatened, privately owned animals are more numerous than those in AZA institutions.  This has led many public and private zoos to recognize the value of private captive animals towards maintaining more diverse gene pools.  In many cases, practices of husbandry and breeding were first determined by private breeders. Many public zoos are not members of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, however, they are professional zoos with dedicated, knowledgeable staff.  They may belong to an alternate professional organization, the Zoological Association of America (ZAOA), whose current president operates the San Diego Zoo in California.

Click Here for more on AZA Accreditation

Click Here to read a newspaper article on PETA's response to the devasting Colorado Blizzards in January 2007 and the Colorado's Governor response to them.

Click Here for an article posted in the Washington Post on HSUS

Click Here for More on HSUS

More on PETA can be viewed at PETAkillsanimals.com

The truth is that PETA, HSUS, and API are organizations that receive millions every year from contributors like you. They pose as groups looking out for animal rights, but the truth is they do not facilitate any animal rescue or shelter. They do not spend any money to actually help animals in need. They spend their money to line their own pockets and to fight political battles to impose animal bans like the House Bill 45. Do not help these organizations out. Do not send them money. If this proposed bill becomes law, many animals will loose their lives. If owners are not able to comply with the new laws, such as building the cages as outlined, rather better or not, putting up new fences, complying with the permit fees of $100.00 per animal, etc. they will have to forfeit their animal. It also states that your fencing has to be 500 feet from your neighbors yard. If you do not have enough property to do this, you will have to forfeit your animal. It also states that an Ohioan Insurance company has to insure you and your animals. There is no such insurance company to do this. Again, they will have to forfeit their animals. Who is going to take these animal? To fall under their guidelines to be exempt from this bill you must be a humane society, a wildlife sanctuary, or an accredited AZA facility. Most accredited AZA Facilities are Zoos and Zoos will not take in privately owned animals that were once someone's pets. Most Humane Society's are geared to only rescuing domestic cats and dogs and will not take in any exotic animals. That leaves wildlife sanctuaries which take on different forms. You can be a wildlife sanctuary and only rescue native wildlife, or only rescue exotics, or maybe both. A facility that only rescues wildlife is not going to take in these animals and most sanctuaries of either kind do educational programs using live animals. This is not allowed according to HB 45 - 

Section 1534.01

(I) “wildlife sanctuary” defined as 1) not using an animal for any type of entertainment, and 2) not breeding animals 

Most animal 501 (c) (3) charitable organizations are providing educational services and use animals when speaking to community groups, schools, etc.  Presentations are much more captivating with live animals, and contact with the public is not necessary to perform these presentations. We at Wild Rescue One do not understand why these facilities can not do educational presentations with animals!

Maintaining the right to breed animals is crucial to conservation efforts for wild animal species.  With dwindling wild habitat, captive breeding is a resource for keeping vital genetic diversity within a species and could serve as a source for re-population back into the wild.

So, the bottom line is, these animals will be euthanized.

Wild Rescue One is not an animal 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, it not considered a wildlife sanctuary, is not a humane society, and is, without a doubt, not AZA accredited. Wild Rescue One rescues native wildlife, domestic dogs and cats and exotic animals. We help local law enforcement when they raid a drug dealer and discover a 4 foot alligator living in the house or a 14 foot python. We rescue those unwanted pets, regardless of what type it is. We will not be able to continue our efforts to help these animals in need if this bill becomes law. We will only be able to continue our efforts for native wildlife, domestic pets, and those exotics that are not on the list of "wild and dangerous animals".

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"Either you have a right to own property, or you are property."

- Wayne Hage, March 1992