URGENT: U.S. Bill to Ban Ferrets?

[msav]

[unclejoe]

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Dear Senator ------,
I am writing to urge you to oppose the so-called Lacey Act amendments in the America COMPETES Act (HR 4521), which is S 1260 in the Senate version. These Lacey Act amendments are found in Section 71102, beginning on page 2,060 in HR 4521. I refer you to www.ferret.org/news/LaceyAct2022.html and usark.org/2022lacey/ for information, as well as a link to the referenced amendments.
These amendments grant broad power to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to regulate or ban the importation and transportation of any species it unilaterally deems “injurious.” This could include transportation between states for veterinary care and shows, and importation to expand the gene pool of already domesticated species. It could trickle down to any animal species.
I have been a ferret owner for over 15 years, and a member, moderator and administrator on nearly 2 dozen ferret-related online forums, and it doesn’t take much forethought to imagine ferrets falling under this law because they are already banned in California and Hawaii. California’s reasoning is that domestic ferrets may escape, breed in the wild and cause damage to indigenous wildlife. This is impossible, as by law, domestic ferrets and many other pets sold in stores must be altered or “de-sexed” before being sold, and long-term breeding by "mills" has deprived domestic ferrets of survival skills and instincts. In fact, pet owners across the entire nation could be subject to the whims of environmental activists in California because this would be a federal law.
The penalties for violation, and the onerous process to have a particular pet species “white-listed” would be out of reach by the average pet owner and most pet organizations.
Most educated Americans are aware that these types of amendments are tacked onto other completely unrelated bills in hopes that they will pass unnoticed, and it is frustrating that many are passed into law without being fully read by every legislator with a vote. The House version of this 2,912 page bill, HR 4521, whose stated purpose is to strengthen America’s economic and national security, has some 600 amendments, most of which are completely unrelated to the COMPETES bill. Please pay special attention to these Lacey Act amendments and get them removed from the senate bill, S 1260.