Florida Lawsuit and FWC Draft Rule Updates
Did you know? USARK FL has filed a lawsuit!
There is a lot of information to process regarding this matter. We will post all of the pertinent links here.
As a very brief summary:
- Senate Bill 1414 passed the Florida Legislature on March 11;
- Florida Governor DeSantis signed the bill on June 29;
- FWC issued an executive order on June 30;
- USARK FL filed a lawsuit on July 10;
- FWC will present draft rules on July 23 at the next FWC Commission Meeting;
- a hearing for a temporary injunction (USARK FL lawsuit) is scheduled for August 12.
From USARK FL: “We are filing this lawsuit on behalf of all responsible Florida herpetoculturists. We are a community and this affects all of us (even if your species of interest was not yet banned). Responsible keepers must support each other. This will be expensive and all donations to USARK FL at this time go directly toward this lawsuit. Our Board has received no compensation since our organization was formed. All monies go toward our fight to protect your freedoms.
At this time, we need donations! This lawsuit will be expensive and we have retained one of Florida’s top law firms, Holland & Knight. We could not have a better firm and team representing us.”
Donation information can be found in the Lawsuit Newsletter. Please read the Lawsuit Newsletter! This unjust action in Florida affects the entire U.S. herpetocultural community and it is important for all U.S. herpetoculturists to remain updated even if not directly impacted.
Lawsuit Newsletter and summary: www.usarkfl.org/lawsuit-newsletter-1
Lawsuit Documents: www.usarkfl.org/lawsuit
Notes of FWC Presentation: www.usarkfl.org/fwc-summary-notes
FWC Draft Rules Summary: www.usarkfl.org/draft-rules-1
Information posted by FWC: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/2020-rule-change/
The webpages above also contain many additional links with more information.
Please be sure to:
- Follow and Like USARK FL on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usarkfl (all links above are shareable from the USARK FL Facebook page as posts):
- Become a member of USARK FL at www.USARKFL.org (FREE for a limited time);
- Donate, if possible!
Protect the Harvest Article
Protect The Harvest (PTH) recently posted an article mentioning USARK and thanking us for our alert regarding an extreme measure hidden inside the 1,815-page HEROES Act. PTH is an animal welfare group created to defend and preserve American freedoms and to support farmers, ranchers, outdoor enthusiasts, and animal owners. We greatly appreciate PTH’s effort to spread awareness of the radical animal rights agenda and their support of USARK. Thank you for your work and for being an ally, PTH!
Read the article titled “Animal Laws and Restrictions Hidden in New COVID Stimulus Plan” at:
Website link: www.protecttheharvest.com/news/animal-laws-and-restrictions-hidden-in-new-covid-stimulus-plan/
Facebook link: www.facebook.com/ProtectTheHarvest/photos/a.179760862130894/2943915742382045
If you missed it, this is the USARK alert that PTH cites: www.usark.org/2020-disease-prevention-act/
It’s finally here!
We have a new website and it is finally live! Thank you greatly to all of those who stuck with us while we worked to bring you a better resource for keeping updated on the important issues affecting herpetoculture. We cannot properly express how important it is for herpetoculturists to follow our coverage of matters impacting our community. Current events often shape the legislative and regulatory efforts that will affect us. If we stop fighting, that is when it all ends. Please know that we are working every hour to protect the freedoms of the responsible herpetocultural community and keep our members informed.
USARK is not possible without the generosity of our members and supporters. Thank you to everyone who makes USARK possible. Without your support, herpetoculture would not be able to provide its many benefits to people and animals across the U.S. From a pet corn snake, gecko, or tree frog leading to a career as a conservation biologist or veterinarian, to a student who sees a tortoise at a school program and becomes a zookeeper, to a family business living a modern American dream through herpetoculture. From medical breakthroughs made possible through our husbandry expertise, to the community coming together to help some of our own when hit with troubling times. We must continue to stand strong and educate lawmakers about what we do and why we do it.
Please visit our new website at www.USARK.org, sign up for the email newsletter, and consider joining or donating. USARK is the only voice dedicated to advocating for the interests of herpetoculturists at all levels of government across our nation. We are fighting for you!
We hope everyone is safe and well. Protect the health of yourself and others as we navigate through these difficult times.
ALERT: Wildlife-Borne Disease Prevention Act (Federal)
UPDATE (with original alert below): The HEROES Act squeaked thought the House with a vote of 208 – 199. While it is expected that the Act will not be supported by the Senate, we all must be aware of what is happening in the current political climate.
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Buried on pages 1,628-1,635 of the latest 1,815-page House democratic draft of a COVID-19 relief bill known as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) is the text of the Wildlife-Borne Disease Prevention Act (the Act). In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and utilizing this crisis as a springboard, the Act has surfaced as activists try to conflate the issue of legal and legitimate trade with substandard wet markets and other unregulated potential vectors for zoonotic disease transmission.
Most troubling of all, the Act contains language that would reverse the USARK federal lawsuit victory by reinstating the ban on interstate transportation of species listed as injurious under the Lacey Act. In that landmark decision, four federal judges agreed that USARK was correct and that the Lacey Act did not ban interstate transportation of injurious species based on the original language of the Lacey Act and the intent of Congress. As a result of this fight for our members and the herpetocultural community, this meant animals domestically bred under human care could be moved and sold across state lines (within the continental United States). For herpetoculturists’ concerns, this included a few species of constrictors snakes and a long list of salamanders. However, that ruling was made on the current Lacey Act language.
Unfortunately, the proposed law now included in the COVID relief bill would overturn that decision. Specifically, the Act would add this language to the Lacey Act (Title 18 Section 42): “or any interstate transport between States within the continental United States.”
Not only will it ban interstate transportation, but it will expand what is considered an injurious species. In addition to the above amendment, it alters the definition of an injurious species: “to be injurious to or to transmit a pathogen that can cause disease in humans…”
The Act has some other consequences:
1. Creates a new route to petition for listing injurious species (with 90 days for the government to respond);
2. Requires a list of species “that could pose a biohazard risk to human health” be compiled by the government and determine if those species may be injurious. The list is to be finalized within one year after passage of the Act;
3. Creates a new electronic permitting system;
4. Creates new monitoring, research, management, and database frameworks (Wildlife Disease Surveillance through the United States Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center).
While we do not believe that the HEROES Act as passed by the House will be supported by the Senate, we do have reasonable concerns that the language on the wildlife trade will find its way into a subsequent bill that could pass the Congress.
For this reason, we are alerting our membership and other animal interests to this threat while working to prevent the inclusion of the Act into a Senate bill. We are engaged, as always, and will keep the community apprised. If action is needed from membership, we will issue an alert and steps to take.
We hope everyone is safe and healthy during this time. Be responsible! Protect your health and the health of others. Always represent herpetoculture in a professional manner.
Read this online at www.usark.org/2020-disease-prevention-act.
You can find the full HEROES Act at this link. See page 1,628 for the Wildlife-Borne Disease Prevention Act: https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20200511/BILLS-116hr6800ih.pdf.
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