Health Department stampeded by comments on exotic animal regulations

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

Talk about having a tiger by the tail.

When the Baltimore City Health Department proposed some new regulations about the keeping of exotic pets, it wasn’t prepared for the reaction.

“We received well over 100 detailed responses,” said Ingrid Antonio, public information officer for the department.

The health department released its proposed regs in early February, and asked for comments by March 2.

They definitely got what they asked for. Maybe even more than they asked for.
“They are detailed responses, and we plan to review them all,” said Antonio.

As a result of the influx, the department is unable to say when the final versions of the new regulations will actually be available.

“We want to make revisions as we think are reasonable,” said Olivia Farrow, assistant commissioner of environmental health.

The regulations as they were suggested would prohibit a number of types of animals sometimes kept as pets, within the city limits. Some of those mentioned in the health department documents included venomous spiders and scorpions, caimans (an alligator-like lizard), specific types of fowl (roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys and more), monkeys, venomous snakes, raccoons, opossums, sugar gliders and more. Dogs and cats were okay, but only in their domesticated forms. Wolves, coyotes and foxes, and lynxes, pumas and the like, would be prohibited.

A bone of contention with many was the proposed regulation against keeping more than 50 pigeons at a time. (Pigeon keeping still enjoys popularity in the city, with many individuals having rooftop or back yard coops, and belonging to pigeon racing clubs).

Bob Anderson, director of the municipal animal shelter, noted that the health department’s proposed regs were a response to multiple complaints from individuals about the smell from, and the droppings of, their neighbors’ caged pigeons. As a result, proposed regs addressed not only the number of pigeons that could be on a premises, but the conditions in which they could be kept.

Whether pigeon keepers will be limited to 50 birds remains to be seen, as officials take time to mull over the comments received.

Exotic and unusual pets are often acquired for the wrong reasons, according to animal sanctuary managers. Sometimes, it is because the animal is trendy, or because the person is seeking attention (and a regular dog or cat or parakeet just isn’t flashy enough). Sometimes, animals are acquired by those who have good intentions, but no knowledge of what it actually takes to care for that animal, or of what it costs. Veterinary care for exotic pets is harder to find and consequently, can be more expensive. Finding pet-sitters can be more difficult as well.

As a result, many owners lose interest and start looking for ways to offload exotic animals in favor of something easier to care for. Some exotic pets are surrendered to sanctuaries, but others are turned loose, where generally, they starve to death. (Of course, at the opposite end of the spectrum are those animals which, once released, begin to decimate local species, the way the Northern Snakehead did when it was released into a Crofton pond.)