Imagine my surprise when I discovered via an e-mail list about legal,
responsible exotic animal ownership that a ban bill had been introduced and
hearings held in Olympia, which I had heard nothing about.

I am a Washington exotic cat owner.

I am an exotic cat trainer on staff with a Washington based non-profit
corporation which holds a USDA exhibitor license to display our cougar,
bobcat, auger buzzard, pythons, boas, alligator and other exotic animals.

I am the President of the Cascade branch of the LIOC (national non-profit
corporation for exotic cats) here in Washington.

I am the President of The Phoenix Exotic Wildlife Association.  (national
Washington based non-profit corporation for exotic animals.

Not only had I not heard of this bill, but also no one in any of the groups
mentioned about had heard.  We discovered it like everyone else in the news.

The Olympian quotes Rep Pennington as saying  "People come out of the
woodwork on this one".

If I may be so bold as to correct that statement - We do NOT come out of the
woodwork.   The exotic owners in Washington are in plain sight and usually
well known.  It may well appear that we come out of the woodwork at times
like these when legislation is introduced that directly effects us, yet no
attempt has been made to allow our input.  We simply show up on our
legislator's doorsteps and ask to be heard.

Who owns exotics?   A policeman, a professor, a fireman and an Indian.  A
truck driver, a doctor, a hunter, a man and a woman.  We are young and old,
rich and not so rich.  Very religious and not at all so.  Vegetarians,
Republicans, Democrats, white, yellow, black and sometimes black and blue.
We are your neighbors, friends and relatives.  We are often reclusive and
quiet to protect the privacy of our animals.  We have groups and clubs we
belong to in an effort to share information and educate all owners.  We very
often know the local wildlife agents and usually know the laws governing
exotic ownership in our area.  The majority of exotic owners try very hard
to remain within the law.

We, the legal, responsible private owners are not backing this bill.  In
fact, we have not actually been consulted or had any input in it, nor has
there been any investigation of our animals or us.  Since we are the ones
who will be affected, it only makes sense that someone should investigate
the subjects of the bill (us) and at least get a good idea of what the
existing situation is.

This bill appears to be based on the bad experience of one owner who
attempted the very risking action of putting together a wild animal and a
child, which every exotic owner I know advises against, and backed by a
group that does not represent exotics ownership in any way - which in fact
would like to ban animal ownership.

PAWS is backing this bill.

PAWS is not an organization representing responsible, legal private
ownership of exotics.

PAWS is, by its own admission, attempting to ban various animals.  A search
of the internet or the library under the subject of PAWS or animal rights
organizations should make the intentions of this ban crystal clear to even a
casual observer.

The groups supporting bans on private ownership are usually the same groups
supporting breed specific bans.  The more extreme factions have been known
to release mink and cattle, open the doors on zoo and circus tigers,
lethally poison privately held cats and other exotics, steal privately held
animals and terrorize private owners.

One of the goals is to terminate the practice of having companion animals.
That's right.  Your little dog and cat.  The general populace is not
currently under attack.  There are too many dog and cat owners.  So, exotic
owners look like an easy target.  This current bill could be introduced and
get thru a first hearing before any exotic owner discovered it was in the
works.  Not so for a ban on domestic dogs and cats.  While there may not be
a legislator that owns a cougar right now, there are certainly many who own
domestic dogs and cats.

There are not a large number of us who chose to own exotics, but we take
that ownership as seriously as do the owners of domestic animals.  We care
for our charges as much as any dog or cat owner loves their companion
animal.

Per the Olympian, the animals selected for the ban were chosen on the basis
of their size and lethal power.

As any horse owner will tell you, these large animals are very dangerous.
They are larger than lions, more apt to be accessible to untrained handlers
and have killed and maimed more humans than any lion or other exotic cat
held in private hands.

Those exotic owners who own and care for a variety of animals, which include
exotic cats, horses and domestic cats and dogs have frequently stated the
horse has caused the most human harm.

The Olympian sites an owner whose young child was attacked by their serval
cat (Small African wildcat).  With a weight of 40 pounds, this cat was well
over one year old.  Therefore, the family seems to have acquired this cat
while the child was 3 years old or less.

This mixing of a piece of the wild with a child is highly irresponsible.
Placing a 4 year old with a highly-strung domestic cat or dog is a known
recipe for harm to the child.

I do not intend to lessen the pain and suffering this family experienced by
the accident.
However banning ownership of exotic cats in the hands of responsible owners
is not a corrective action appropriate to this situation.  Child
endangerment laws are already on the books.

One of the most important points of this sort of ban is the list of those
who would be exempt.  The majority of the accidents that do occur can be
proven to take place in these very places.

On my way into town today I passed within a few miles of numerous exotic
animals which all appear happy and are currently owned by private parties -
a camel, bison, cougars, bobcats, wolves, wolf dogs, snakes, monkeys,
numerous birds, bears, elk, ostrich, emu, iguana - and those are only the
ones that I personally know of.

We are a nation of diverse personalities with diverse interests.  Private
ownership of exotics is legal in Washington.  Let's keep it that way.

Thank you,

Jeanne Hall
900 NW State Avenue
Chehalis, WA 98532
360-767-0746