Assemblyman Steve Katz (R,C,I, Yorktown), a practicing veterinarian, in correlation with Animal Advocacy Day, has introduced Assembly Bills 5273, which would prevent exotic animals from interfering with our ecosystem by finding them a decent home, and 7526, which would create annual reports from animal shelters regarding the animals in their care.
Assembly Bill 5273 would provide purchasers of exotic pets with proper information should they no longer wish to own the pet, such as local facilities capable of taking care of the animal. This would prevent exotic animals from potentially harming our local environment if they were released into the wild. These kinds of problems have been made famous in the Florida Everglades, where pet Burmese pythons were released into the environment when they were no longer wanted as pets. The snakes have drastically altered the ecosystem. Exotic pets are becoming more and more popular and when they get to be too expensive or too burdensome they are frequently just released into the wild, greatly affecting the ecosystem.
"Ecosystems are very fragile and the introduction of an exotic species could present a number of difficulties," Katz said. "By providing new pet owners with this information up front, I believe people will take advantage of giving their pet a loving home, should they be unable to continue caring for it. It's what is best for the community, ecosystem, and the animal. I know this is a service that benefits everyone."
Assembly Bill 7526 would create annual reports from animal shelters for a statistical analysis of the various types and breeds of species housed in these shelters. The report would include what types of animals are being taken in at the shelter, whether or not the animal has been adopted, how the animal got into the custody of the shelter, among other categories. This would allow for the public to be aware of what shelters house what type of animals for potential adoption and data analysis.
"In order to understand how our animal shelters are working for both the people of New York and the animals people look after, we must have data," Katz said. "The people will get to see how successful one shelter is as compared to another at finding a home for a stray they may have picked up, in addition to providing information that could track down unsafe puppy mills. This information will also let us know which shelters may be less likely to euthanize a pet. For the animal-loving community these are important figures."
Both pieces of legislation have been referred to the Assembly Agriculture Committee. To voice your support for Assemblyman Steve Katz's legislation please contact his district office at (845) 628-3781.
