- HSUS pushing bans - Primates, elephants and big cats in Nevada.

As seen with many states this legislative session, HSUS has been pushing their templates for 'dangerous wild animal' related bills to ban direct contact and private ownership of exotic animals.  This is all under the guise of public safety by way of their own purposefully misleading conjecture.

Senators Settelmeyer, Ratti, Kieckhefer, Hardy, Hansen, Hammond, Goicoechea, Gansert, Buck all voted NO!

Nevada already has strong regulations in place for such animals because of decades of wild animal shows on the Las Vegas strip. HSUS tries to spin the reason for added regulation - that it is warranted by an increase in incidents.

- "Big Cat Rescue", a proponent of such regulation, has acknowledged that since the new federal regulations under the Captive Wild Animal Safety Act, they have seen a decrease in rescues and confiscations by 97%.

The remaining 3% were from "sanctuaries" rescuing their way to bankruptcy; taking in more animals than they could handle and thus becoming part of the problem instead of part of the solution.

- The bill has vague and "blank-check" interruptions such as "direct contact", meaning physical contact with or a situation of physical proximity where physical contact is possible with an exotic animal.

The word "possible" opens a huge door for self-interpretation by authorities, and this is by design!

- USDA licensed facilities would carry some exemptions unless they receive a "citation" from a animal care inspector, even though USDA firmly states that a citation is not a violation of the Animal Welfare Act.  

- In addition, ONLY zoos accredited by the AZA and their staff can have direct contact with those animals. Non-AZA, but licensed USDA facilities, will be prohibited from allowing staff to have direct contact with their charges, AND THIS INCLUDES THE OWNER(s).

- The bill exempts AZA accredited zoos, even though there have been almost 20 such big cat escapes at AZA facilities since 2001.

- Some television and movie productions would be exempt only if spending $500,000 or more on production.

- The bill would impact those with qualified primates assisting handicapped persons such as quadriplegics or muscular dystrophy patients.  

There are many problems with this bill as written. Read the full text of SB 344 here and see for yourself the negative effects it would have on owning and exhibiting animals in the state of Nevada.  You can also read a full litany of the adverse effects and problems on SB 344 here.