What an amazing accomplishment for the Reptile Nation! Briefly, the U.S. Court of Appeals determined that, as a matter of law, USARK got it right – the Lacey Act does not prohibit transportation and commerce of species listed as injurious between the continental states. This means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) can’t restrict the commerce and transportation of ...

UPDATE: This bill died in committee! No further action required. AB238 is not about animal welfare or public safety. It is about advancing a radical agenda and a "look what we did" so animal rights groups can bring millions of more dollars into their fraudulent organizations for payroll, not to help animals. This bill bans the importation, possession, sale, transfer and ...

UPDATE: Hearing on Tuesday, May 2 at 1:00 PM Massachusetts State House Hearing Room B-1 24 Beacon St. Boston, MA 02133 Massachusetts S490 is an animal rights written and driven bill meant to eliminate the exhibition of animals outside of permanent facilities (such as zoos). While the reported purpose is to end animals in circuses and similar events, the language of the ...

UPDATE from July 12, 2017: Proposal amended and hearing scheduled for September 19 More updates soon! Quick update (from April): Thanks to the hard work from dedicated local herpers and open ears from the council members, this broadly sweeping and far overreaching proposal has been amended but is still unacceptable with a complete ban on some animals including snakes over ...

Positive legislation! Indiana HB 1550 would allow species listed under the Endangered Species Act ("ESA") to be kept if domestically bred. ESA-listed species are already regulated at the national level by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but Indiana has a much more restrictive law that makes it illegal to own these species. Banning the keeping of ESA-listed species is ...

EXPIRED Remember to be CIVIL and PROFESSIONAL at all times! EXPIRED UPDATE: After ignoring everyone who came to speak out against the proposal (including an exotic animal specialty veterinarian), the Board approved the language. The only change was the removal of the spay/neuter requirement for Tier 3 animals. There will be a second hearing with a final vote on January ...

DEADLINE: Sept. 15 at 3:00 PM There are two Action Alerts. The one on this page takes only a couple minutes and is the best option. We also have the quick Action Alert at www.usark.org/campaign/action-alert-cambridge-mass/. Please share and do both alerts. SUMMARY: This proposed ordinance to amend Title 6 of the Cambridge, MA Municipal Code would ban the sale of ...

WHAT: H.R. 5895 and S. 3278, the Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act of 2016 (“IFWP”) Where: National Introduced by, and other details: H.R. 5895 by Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and S. 3278 by Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY). Link to text: https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Invasive-Fish-Wildlife-Prevention-Act-of-2016.pdf Links to more information, including co-sponsors (to be updated): 1.     H.R. 5895: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5895 2.     S. 3278: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3278 Summary: Similar to ...

Remember to be CIVIL and PROFESSIONAL at all times! Deadline to comment is June 27! WHAT: Chapter 55 of the Washoe County Code regarding animals will likely soon be revised. Outside groups and extremists are pushing for bans and overregulation. At the June 28th meeting, Washoe County Animal Control will give a presentation to the Commission and then ask for ...

This letter can be used to send to officials to support conversion of traditional roundups into educational no-kill events. The below is written regarding the Apache Rattlesnake Festival in Oklahoma, but a few simple edits replacing the state and name of roundup are all that is needed to use for other roundups. It is also best to personalize the letter ...

Remember to be CIVIL and PROFESSIONAL at all times! Deadline to comment is June 17 at 5:00 PM Eastern time! Sample letters, talking points, contact information, etc. can all be found below! Where: Maine state WHAT: The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife ("DIFW") has announced a completely unjust, unconstitutional and overreaching proposal to regulate animal ownership which is an EXTREME ...

Be CIVIL and PROFESSIONAL! Full alert below and simple form alert at www.usark.org/campaign/oregon-action-alert. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has proposed some rule changes which will negatively impact both native and exotic animal keepers. The changes may even harm the animals by requiring sterilization of animal species that are rarely, if ever, sterilized. While good intention may be ...

Salamander Injurious Listing ACTION ALERT Deadline to comment: March 14, 2016 at 11:59 PM EST USARK has been and will continue to address this issue. As always, USARK works to protect the entirety of the responsible herpetocultural community. While protection of native species is essential, this rule is far-reaching, actually overreaching. It would essentially end a clean trade by responsible herpetoculturists. In addition, ...

Deadline to comment is November 17, 2015. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing fourteen species of native herps for potential listings under the Endangered Species Act. Conservation efforts are critical for our native species, and others worldwide, as human expansion, habitat loss and pollution continue to decimate populations. These listings also have an impact on the interstate trade and exportation ...

Deadline to comment is October 26, 2015. The United States, as a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), may propose amendments to the CITES Appendices for consideration at meetings of the Conference of the Parties. Conservation efforts are critical for species worldwide as human expansion, habitat loss and pollution continue to decimate ...

ALERT: WISCONSIN Update 12/23/15: AB 333 public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, January 5 at 10:00 AM. If attending the hearing, please review the information at this link. www.usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/WI-Public-Hearing-Testify.pdf. Never be afraid to speak at a hearing. You are simply educating the legislators and letting them know they have been fed misinformation from the animal rights activists. REMEMBER, you are a tax-payer and you ...

Lawsuit Update: FWS has filed a notice of appeal to the preliminary injunction granted to USARK. The Government has 14 days to file a docketing statement. USARK will then have 7 days following to file a statement. Then, we will wait for the Court of Appeals to enter an order for a briefing schedule. At this time, nothing has changed ...

Lawsuit UpdateJudge Moss has granted the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) joint motion to intervene in the USARK lawsuit. While the Court stated that a motion to intervene by HSUS alone may not have been sufficient, the CBD argument was ample to establish standing and allow intervention. This appears to be based upon one ...

HR 2920: Amendments to the Lacey Act UPDATE: HR 2920 is a reintroduction of the "Captive Primate Safety Act." The bill seeks to add all non-human primates as "prohibited wildlife species" under Chapter 53 of the Lacey Act. This bill will add primates to the current list of "prohibited wildlife species": lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any ...

Salamander Bsal and Potential Import BanAs has been mentioned in previous USARK newsletters, Salamander chytrid fungus, or Bsal, has been a topic of concern for several months. We need preliminary data on the domestic salamander trade. All U.S. breeders and businesses dealing with salamanders (native and non-native species), please send an email to Contact@USARK.org with the subject line "Salamanders." We'll send ...

Lawsuit UpdateOn Friday, USARK filed an opposition brief requesting that the Court not allow the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) to intervene in our lawsuit. Among other arguments, USARK made clear that HSUS and CBD lack standing (entitlement) to become involved. The evidence provided by these parties falls far below the established D.C. Circuit standards for demonstrating organizational standing.The ...

Egyptian Tortoise ESA listing Deadline to comment June 9 (11:59 PM EST) USARK submitted our comment regarding the potential listing of the Egyptian tortoise under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). You can read our comment at www.usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Egyptian-tortoise-comment-USARK.pdf. USARK fully supports conservation efforts. In an age when habitat destruction, human overpopulation and pollution are by far the main factors leading to the extinction of ...

Washoe County, Nevada is holding the first hearing to discuss amendments to County Code Chapter 55 regarding animals on June 9, 2015. For exotic animal-related businesses, they are proposing an "Animal Welfare Permit." They are also proposing a "Commercial Breeding Permit" for breeders of dogs and cats. These two issues will set language that will affect upcoming changes to the exotic animal code. Concerned ...

Salamanders and Bsal Below is a posting from last week in the Unified Agenda by the Department of the Interior and FWS regarding salamander chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal or Bs). The Unified Agenda publishes significant regulatory actions that agencies expect to tackle. Federal agencies are required to publish agendas of regulatory and deregulatory activities. Title: Injurious Wildlife Species; Listing Salamanders Due to Risk ...

Preliminary Injunction Final Ruling Today (5/19/15), Judge Moss made a final ruling on USARK’s preliminary injunction. The preliminary injunction will go into effect 14 days from today (June 2, 2015). The scope of the injunction is limited. Domestic imports and transportation into Texas and Florida are excluded from the injunction. The injunction will also be limited to listed plaintiffs and ...

Lawsuit Update Monday (5/18/15) USARK was again in Washington, D.C. for a hearing regarding our lawsuit, and specifically the preliminary injunction. To close the hearing, Judge Moss ordered both parties to have supplemental briefs filed by 10:00 AM today (5/19/15). These briefs were to answer two questions: Is it permissible for the Court to grant a stay (temporary stopping) of ...

Lawsuit Update Before we get into this update, USARK would like to again clearly emphasize one glaring point. A point which has thus far throughout this case become obvious to even the Defendants, the anti-pet groups that pushed these listings, and even many who believed the sensationalized and painfully inaccurate media coverage of this lawsuit and these snakes.The point: If the final ruling of this lawsuit ...

Brief History of Recent Happenings When reticulated pythons and green anacondas were added to the injurious species list in March 2015, USARK had the option to amend the existing case to also challenge the new listings. In addition, we had the legal recourse to request a preliminary injunction (PI) for the recently added snakes. USARK chose to do both. If ...

Court Rules in Favor of the Reptile Nation! View as a Press Release at www.usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/PI-Press-Release1.pdf. Reptile Nation, we have good news! USARK is pleased to announce the Court ruled in our favor, granting our motion for preliminary injunction.  This injunction will suspend  the ban on interstate transportation of reticulated pythons and green anacondas under the Lacey Act.  Given the high bar ...

The Constrictor Rule After reading below, find additional information at www.usark.org/2015-blog/7129/.Following an attack from anti-pet special interest groups upon the herp community with respect to large constrictor snakes, USARK has been forced to respond to the influence these extremist groups wield with government agencies and officials. The animal rights (AR) movement, most notably the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), ...