By-Laws

[Big_V]

Sleddergirl- Are you sure about that...the reptile store is based in Hamilton and they arent shut down...??
Yeah i wouldnt be challenging any bylaws by yourself. Try to rally some fellow herpers and no go it alone because your going to have to present a case that will want to change their minds. Get some "experts" and present a case that is knowledgeable and not this is BS. But its better to keep what I have on the Downlow and see what happens IMHO.
Cheers,
Ryan

[sleddergirl]

Big V - very sure, Paul from the Reptile Store and I have discussed it before. Pet stores, legal rescues, circus', etc. are exempt from the law. As was once pointed out to me, there is a small loophole in Hamiltons by-law........one of the other "things" that are considered exempt is worded in the by-law as a "menagerie" but they fail to give a legal definition of what that is exactly.

In Hamilton, its legal for a pet store to sell you a reptile, just illegal for you to own it..............

Makes no sense but..........as I said, if animal control ever comes my way, all my animals will be housed at my store in no time...

[Toirtis]

Originally posted by claycoke11
They won't do anything even if you are caught,

There are a few people that might argue otherwise....London, Ontario is known for strict enforcement of their bylaws, for instance.

[Toirtis]

Originally posted by WRX
I used to like in Winnipeg, and they passed a by-law for 6ft and over. The person who came up with the list of snakes was a hooved animal guy from the Zoo.

Yes, but the law was created/passed at the insistance of the municipality and animal control after two boas and one ball python were freed and caught roaming parks over a 5 week period in one summer.

[WRX]

Yea, and its a lesson.

Keep your snakes in the cage / backyard. As bad as we want to show em off, its a bad idea where there are laws to prohibit!


BT

[Lisa]

Originally posted by sleddergirl
Big V - very sure, Paul from the Reptile Store and I have discussed it before. Pet stores, legal rescues, circus', etc. are exempt from the law. As was once pointed out to me, there is a small loophole in Hamiltons by-law........one of the other "things" that are considered exempt is worded in the by-law as a "menagerie" but they fail to give a legal definition of what that is exactly.

In Hamilton, its legal for a pet store to sell you a reptile, just illegal for you to own it..............

Makes no sense but..........as I said, if animal control ever comes my way, all my animals will be housed at my store in no time...

That's as odd as surrey's law, where you can own but can not sell, buy, trade or otherwise aquire a reptile with in city limits.

[Iguanalady]

You need to get a hold of the city coucillors in person. Don't e-mail or use your computer. Open up your phone book and find out the phone numbers for your mayor and coucil. Phone them up and talk to each one in person. Find out who are the losers who would stand against you and who are the ones who are a bit on your side. There are always a few of both and then a few in the middle. Talk to each one and try to get across the reasons why this by-law needs changing. Always be reasonable and always have good sound reasoning. Dont just say it isnt fair, say its not logical because there are plenty of harmless snakes that are banned by the bylaw and you feel that, though regulation is a good thing perhaps some adjustments could be made to make a compromise so all sides could be happy. Tell them that you know a lot about reptiles and could be a guide to helping them come up with better guidelines as it is obvious that the person who did previously did not really know much about snakes and probably just picked an arbitrary size that sounded good. If you find certain councillors really open to what you say ask to meet them for lunch face to face so you can discuss it further. Ask them how you will go about getting the by-law changed and they can tell you how. Basically you will have to go to a council meeting and make a proposal but that should be done after you have had chats with everyone because you dont get much of an opportunity to convince them in a meeting and it will be all your out of the meeting discussions that will tip the scales so to speak.

Good luck

[monitor boy]

the thing i love about richmond hill is they have by-laws for snakes but nothing for lizards so i can keep my niles no problem and i just need to hide my 2 snakes

[Darren179]

or we can start a crazy ssnakess.com "peacful protest" get everyone to get a ssnakess t-shirt and demand a change (while supporting the site at the same time)