As many of you know, the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife held the initial hearings on the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act, better known as H.R. 669.
According to the bill, if any animal is not on an Approved List, it would be banned for possession (unless you could prove you owned it prior to a risk assessment), breeding, sale,l trade, or movement between states. So, if an unapproved pet species of fish reproduced in your aquarium, you'd be in criminal violation of the law. Likewise, if your son or daughter owned an unapproved species and you had to relocate to another state, you'd be in criminal violation if you took the pet with you.
Anyone owning pet fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals or invertebrates could e affected by this bill, as would companies selling pet products or services. Apart from dogs, cats and goldfish, virtually every species falls under the tarp created by H.R. 669.
Among the six invited guests who spoke before the Committee was Marshall Meyers, CEO and General Counsel of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council who spoke on behalf pet owners and the pet industry. He spoke against the bill in its current form, explaining why, if passed, it could have devastating affects on pet owners and the pet industry.
Meyers stated the industry's position that conceptually we support the development of strategic, risk-based process to prevent the introduction of invasive species (harmful nonnative species) into the United States. The current draft of the bill does not adequately take socio-economic issues and risk management options into account and would overburden resources currently available to the enforcement agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
As an industry we are very interested in working with the authors of the bill and other interested parties to craft more realistic legislation that serves the public and affected industries alike.
We need your help. Subcommittee Chairwoman, and author of the bill, Madeleine Z. Bordallo (NP-Guam), acknowledged, "We recognize the bill is by no means perfect, and that changes will be needed to address various concerns before any legislation moves forward." Subcommittee member Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (NP-American Samoa), a co-sponsor of the bill, congratulated Meyers and the pet industry for the tremendous grassroots response that has bee generated, nothing that it is important to have input from constituents on these issues.
Please go to http://www.nohor669.com/ and let your elected representatives know how you feel. Now is the time to take action to make sure any legislation concerning this important topic is fair and accomplishes the intended goal.
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