Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 28, 1993 TAG: 9301280223
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium
STATE DEMANDS PERMITS FOR EXOTIC PETS
Carson Robertson concedes that Buster, his pet monk parakeet, can be noisy and "isn't real friendly."But Robertson takes exception to the state's view of Buster - whose only sentence is "Buster's a pretty bird" - as a nuisance.
Monk parakeets and a number of other creatures have made the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' list of "non-native exotic animals" that, as of this month, require a permit to be imported, sold or possessed in Virginia.
Such animals, many of them pets, pose a threat to native animals if they escape, the department says.
Monk parakeets, for example, have reputations for chasing away other birds that want to share tree space.
Fred Leckie, an assistant chief in the department's fisheries division, said the department doesn't have a problem with exotic pets as long as they are confined. "But what happens when people get tired of the thing? It gets let out in the wild."
Game department officials say permits for most of the animals on the list will be hard to get, except for those that were in the state before last July 1. Those animals, like Buster, automatically get a permit after their owners inform the department.
But pet owners have been slow to do so. Department officials say they know the whereabouts of only a tiny fraction of non-native exotics that are believed to be in the state.
Some pet owners say they fear their animals eventually will be taken from them if they notify the department, but Leckie denied that.
"We never wanted to get into confiscating pets," he said. "We don't have the manpower to go around and confiscate them. And then what do we do with them?"
But he acknowledged "we don't exactly want these animals in Virginia. . . . From now on, we don't want them coming into Virginia without us knowing about them and allowing them in."
Among the animals on the list:
Brown tree snakes. In the wild, they can wipe out bird populations and disturb people by showing up in places like toilet bowls and kitchen sinks.
Piranhas. They are voracious eaters that strip waterways of fish populations, though most stories of them attacking people are unfounded.
Zebra mussels. These thumbnail-size, freshwater mollusks cling to the insides of water intakes, clogging them and causing grief for operators of power, sewage treatment and water supply plants. They also attach to shellfish, eventually smothering them, and filter waterways so well they've disrupted ecosystems by eating vast amounts of phytoplankton.
Wild pigs and hogs. There are about 10 species of these, Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs not included, known to uproot flowers, plants and crops in search of roots to eat.
State officials defend the list as protecting existing wildlife in Virginia.
"There's no such thing as constructive tinkering when it comes to the environment," said Bob Duncan, chief of the game department's wildlife division. "When you start talking about introducing animals that will compete with native wildlife and could cause health problems, then we don't want them."
Leckie said it's unlikely permits will be issued for the more dangerous animals on the list, such as alligators, crocodiles and piranhas. Game department officials are working on a "protocol" to allow the potential importation of other animals.
Marshall Meyers, executive vice president of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, a national pet advocacy group, said the permit policy raises concerns.
"I can see situations in which certain people with legitimate purposes can't get permits," Meyers said. "There will be continual friction."
But state officials say the plan is reasonable.
"We're not trying to stifle interest in nature and wildlife," Duncan said. "But we'd rather have some idea of what's out there."
\ NON-NATIVE EXOTIC ANIMALS THAT REQUIRE PERMITS TO OWN, SELL OR IMPORT
Amphibians: Giant toads or marine toads, tongueless frogs or African clawed frogs, barred tiger salamanders, gray tiger salamanders, blotched tiger salamanders
Birds: Monk parakeets
Fish: Smallmouth buffaloes, bigmouth buffaloes, black buffaloes, piranhas, bighead carp, grass carp, silver carp, black carp, rudd, tenches, tilapia, ruffe, air-breathing catfish
Mammals: Wild pigs, wild hogs, wild boars, wild deer, wild dogs, wolves, coyotes, hybrid wolves, jackals, foxes, bears, raccoons, weasels, badgers, skunks, civets, genets, lingsangs, mongooses, hyenas, aardwolves, wild cats, rats, European hares, European rabbits
Mollusks: Zebra mussels
Reptiles: Alligators, caimans, crocodiles, gavials, brown tree snakes