Petition against the legislation in KZN

 we(mandie and tim surman fromwww.petbugs.co.za) started this petition with the help of Henk Bosch as we feel that the new propose legislation is seriously flawed.  We (everyone from the exotic pet trade and hobby across the world) are calling out for change in the draft and for sanity to prevail.

 

 

The legislation :

all exotic mammals, reptiles and amphibians and invertebrates WILL require permits. Mammals that are exempted are domesticated rats and mice (lab animals) and under insects the house cricket, mealworms and silkworms are allowed without permits.

The following animals are on Schedule 10 to the KwaZulu-Natal Environmental, Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Bill, 2014 460 which means that they cannot be permitted and as such are not allowed to be kept in the province even with a permit. Brace yourselves

.Reptiles Scientific Name - English Name: Basiliscus vittatus - Basilisk lizard, Gekko gecko- Tokay gecko, Hemidactylus mabouia - Tropical house gecko , Iguana iguana - Green iguana, Phelsuma madagascariensis - Madagascar day gecko, Trioceros melleri Meller’s -  chameleon, SnakesAcanthophis rugosus - New guinea death adder, Bitis gabonica (extra-limital) -  Gaboon adder, Bitis nasicornis - Nose-horned, ViperBitis rhinoceros -  Rhinoceros viper, Boa constrictor constrictor- Boa constrictor, Daboia russelli - Russell’s viper, Dendroaspis jamesoni jamesoni - Jameson’s green mamba, Dendroaspis viridus - Western green mamba ,Elaphe gutata gutata- Corn snakes , Lachesis muta -  Bushmaster Morelia spilota (or M. spilotes spilotes) Diamond python- Naja pallida, Red spitting -  cobra, Python molurus bivittatus - Burmese pythonSpillotes pullatus,  Tiger ratsnake - Geochelone sulcata,  Spur-thighed tortoise -Chelydra serpentina ,Common snapping turtle- Chrysemys scripta,  Red-eared terrapin - Macrochelys temminckii ,  Aligator snapping turtle - Trachemys species Trachemys slider species ,Caiman crocodiles - Common caiman,

 Amphibians

Dendrobates species

 Poison arrow frogsPhyllobates species Poison frogs

ArachnidsScientific Name English NameFamily Theraphosidae

All alien species of tarantula spidersOrder Scorpionida

This attempt to destroy our livelihoods and thousands of jobs is yet another example of how incompetent the Nature Conservation Departments have become. They are unable to even enforce the few current laws that they have, but now intend to increase this to such a level that the entire police force would be unable to do. Tens of thousands of snakes and lizards are currently in the hobby and a few thousand people keep these animals in KZN. The list itself, shows just how little research was done on compiling this preposterous draft. A blanket ban on some animals is ridiculous as most are not invasive. Below are just a few examples of the lack of any coherent thought processes.

Tropical house geckos (Hemidactylus mabouia) are already found in most households in KZN.  Should every household now apply for a permit?

Exotic roaches:  over  4500 species worldwide  and less than 2 % are invasive. Two of them are American and German roach that actually come from Africa. If any exotic roaches escape, chances are that they will become a meal for any local animal.

Trioceros melleri are hard to even keep alive and not many people do have them. Local chameleons are under threat, what chance do these giants have to become invasive?

If tarantulas are banned and must be euthanized, don’t you consider this animal cruelty? How would you go about collecting the tens of thousands of tarantulas in the province?

The animals you are trying to ban are part of many peoples income and livelihood, if you do ban them, will you give these people a job and take the responsibility up to care for their family? This includes online exotics shops, people that do educational shows, petshops etc.

Speaking of family, to most of us these animals are our family and we love them more than some people love their children. I do not know anyone that will just hand over their tarantulas or pets. Making thousands of pets illegal may tempt people to release their pets into the wild before handing them over to be murdered. This would be way more catastrophic than the current situation.

How are we supposed to take these officials seriously when they release documents such as these?  The industry should have been properly regulated 20 years ago, to try turn this around now is a pipe dream which they have no chance of ever realising. Most keepers will just blatantly ignore these regulations, as the new legislation is being ignored currently in Gauteng.

With this petition, we will show you just how many people care about their animals and are willing to go the extra mile to keep them.