PROPOSED FLORIDA EXOTIC ANIMAL MODELLED AFTER FEDERAL BILL

 

KEY PROVISIONS AND REASONS FOR THEM

 

CURRENT FL LAW

 

After the FL Supreme Court ruled years ago that the Constitutional Amendment did not give the predecessor to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) power to regulate captive exotic animals, the Legislature passed what is now renumbered as FS 379 granting FWC that power.  379.3762 reads:

 

379.3762 Personal possession of wildlife.

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(1) It is unlawful for any person or persons to possess any wildlife as defined in this act, whether native to Florida or not, until she or he has obtained a permit as provided by this section from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

(2) The classifications of types of wildlife and fees to be paid for permits for the personal possession of wildlife shall be as follows:

(a) Class I—Wildlife which, because of its nature, habits, or status, shall not be possessed as a personal pet.

(b) Class II—Wildlife considered to present a real or potential threat to human safety, the sum of $140 per annum.

(c) Class III—All other wildlife not included in Class I or Class II, for which a no-cost permit must be obtained from the commission.

(3) Any person, firm, corporation, or association exhibiting or selling wildlife and being duly permitted as provided by s. 379.304 shall be exempt from the fee requirement to receive a permit under this section.

(4) This section shall not apply to the possession, control, care, and maintenance of ostriches, emus, rheas, and bison domesticated and confined for commercial farming purposes, except those kept and maintained on hunting preserves or game farms or primarily for exhibition purposes in zoos, carnivals, circuses, and other such establishments where such species are kept primarily for display to the public.

(5) A person who violates this section is punishable as provided in s. 379.4015.

History.

 

So, in Florida, theoretically you cannot own a big cat as a pet. You supposedly must “exhibit” in order to have a license from FWC to own the cat. But there are no regulations defining criteria for what constitutes exhibiting, like rules about a minimum number of visitors or minimum amount of revenue to be an exhibitor.

 

Under federal law you are supposed to have a license from USDA to exhibit. One might presume then that if you do not have a USDA license, or lose your USDA license, you would become a pet owner under FL law.  There was one case we know of where a person lost their USDA license and we complained to FWC that since the person could not legally exhibit, they were a pet owner in violation of FL law.  FWC said they do not enforce federal law, so whether the person was in violation of federal law was not relevant, and if they said they were an exhibitor, they qualify as an exhibitor.

 

So, in practice the supposed ban on having a big cat as a pet is meaningless because there is no definition of “exhibit” and apparently all an owner has to do is say they exhibit.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

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Music (if any)