Owning hedgehogs in illegal states

[Melissa7746]

Opinion...That some person can tell you that having CERTAIN animals in your home is stupid..I dont think anyone should own an animal that could cause harm to them or someone near them..I have never read any stories on insane hedgehogs...
As far as it being a law well....there is also a law that says you cant tie a giraffe to a telephone pole....

[kaiteedyd]

I seriously doubt that internet stories and internet polls/petitions are going to get you guys anywhere. You need to come together as a group (possibly using the net to do that) and petition petition petition the PA authorities in real life till they get sick of hearing from you and finally give in.

Get the news media on your side. Write editorials to the papers. Go over people's head. Maybe collect monies and hire a lawyer on your behalf.

Keep trying. These PA authorties handing exotics sounds completely nuts and ignorant and evil.

[HedgieSpirit]

I would LOVE it if the PA law would change. Then I could actually consider applying to college there. Until then it looks like I'll have to go to a NY school... :|

[Megan.]

dont think anyone should own an animal that could cause harm to them or someone near them..I have never read any stories on insane hedgehogs...

What about dogs? Cats? Birds? Both can cause a lot of damage to people. Look at some of the people who are attacked by dogs, or those seriously bitten and scratched by cats. Birds (some) have such power beaks they can break a broomstick without hardly trying. These can all do damage, and should we not own any? A rat/guinea pig/chinchilla can bite someone and do nerve damage if the teeth go in far enough and hit a nerve. I know people who have no feeling in the tips of their finger because they were bitten.

I dont think animals should be illegal because of the potentional they can harm/kill someone. Most animals can harm a person. Hedgehogs can inflict fairly good bites. Missy for example started biting after I fixed her popping/clicking problem, she decided biting would be fun. I've had her break through the skin while working with her. If she bit someone(a child for instance) she could have done some damage.

I think it should depend on the quality of care these animals are receiving, the way they are housed(example: Wolves, Big Cats, Venomous snakes ect) should not be housed the same way domestic dogs and cats or nonvenomous snakes are housed. Extra precautions should be taken.

As far as the PA examples...How was the quality of care given to the animals? were they taken care of? Were their numerous calls about them? Sometimes we don't hear all the things we should, and are left with bias opinions. I've heard things about the hedgehog breeder who had her animals taken away that made it seem like they were NOT taken care of, and illegal animals were being housed there, and others had reported her.

[Jules7533]

Do the laws state why they are illegal in some states?? I feel there should be more rules for PET OWNERS, as far as care goes, and less on geographical locations. Exp. my neighbors should not be allowed to have pets of any kind due to the extreme neglect of their dogs. How long should people put up with the corrupt laws. What if your state decided it was illegal to have whatever kind of animal you have all of the sudden?? What about making pitbulls illegal due to idiotic owners?? Would you obey the law?? They should be more concerned with implementing laws that protect the animals from cruel and neglectful owners, as opposed to what state a person lives in. How often are the police conducting "hedgie raids" on a person who completely cares for and loves their pet. I imagine the time people are having their pets confiscated are in extreme circumstances. Does anyone know, not through 3rd party, of anyone personally who has had their animals confiscated and euthanized? In my opinion there are laws that are made to be broken. People need to stand up for their rights! Sorry I am done now! :laugh: This is really a great debate. I don't know about all of you but I get all worked up over this issue! :laugh:

[Jessicy]

I don't understand why they would put a hedgehog illegal, when it wasn't before.... What would happend if you had one then your state decide to put them illegal? Here in Canada we don't have that problem.

[Nancy]

I don't understand why they would put a hedgehog illegal, when it wasn't before.... What would happend if you had one then your state decide to put them illegal? Here in Canada we don't have that problem.

Yes here in Canada we do have this problem in certain areas. Ottawa for instance recently made it illegal to own, breed and sell hedgehogs. The breeding and selling is enforced but luckily owning isn't as long as the hedgehog is well cared for. They are also illegal in at least one western Ontario city but at the moment I can't remember which one.

Jules, back when I first got into hedgies there were many stories on the internet from people who had their hedgies confiscated.

[kaiteedyd]

Do the laws state why they are illegal in some states?? I feel there should be more rules for PET OWNERS, as far as care goes, and less on geographical locations. Exp. my neighbors should not be allowed to have pets of any kind due to the extreme neglect of their dogs. How long should people put up with the corrupt laws. What if your state decided it was illegal to have whatever kind of animal you have all of the sudden?? What about making pitbulls illegal due to idiotic owners?? Would you obey the law?? They should be more concerned with implementing laws that protect the animals from cruel and neglectful owners, as opposed to what state a person lives in. How often are the police conducting "hedgie raids" on a person who completely cares for and loves their pet. I imagine the time people are having their pets confiscated are in extreme circumstances. Does anyone know, not through 3rd party, of anyone personally who has had their animals confiscated and euthanized? In my opinion there are laws that are made to be broken. People need to stand up for their rights! Sorry I am done now! :laugh: This is really a great debate. I don't know about all of you but I get all worked up over this issue! :laugh:

My knowledge isn't first hand but I believe someone in PA had ALL of their hedgehogs confiscated.

[ChoppersMom]

My understanding of the laws is that in most cases, non-indigenous animals tend to be banned because in the event they got loose, they might cause an upset to the natural balance of predators and prey. They can introduce unknown diseases to large areas, which would be next to impossible to control. (West Nile Virus, anyone?) And they can injure unsuspecting people, which in the case of a hedgehog is clearly ridiculous. (BREAKING NEWS: One-pound hedgehog runs amok in Gettysburg-three history buffs get SLIGHTLY POKED!!!) I hate these laws, because they are starting to ban the most innocuos animals. In NY, you can no longer own a boid (snake) or any species of water monitor (big honkin' lizard.) People have owned these animals for, like, EVER, and the worst that has ever happened when a boa gets loose is A)it dies because it can't thermoregulate, or B) it scares the Bejeezus out of some poor person by hiding in their toilet bowl. There's no reason for this animal to be illegal. Scaring someone by hiding in their toilet bowl isn't particularly nice, but it certainly isn't CRIMINAL. The problem, as I see it, is that the laws are advocated and passed by people who don't know thing one about these exotics. My opinion is, if an owner is willing to prove he/she can properly house and care for the animal, and obtain a permit to keep it, and let Animal Control check up on them, they should be allowed to own the animal. That goes for lions, tigers, giraffes, kangaroos, whatever. I think it's abjectly foolish to want to keep a tiger, but that's just me. If you want one and can keep it from eating the neighbors, go ahead. Just let Mr. State Animal Man know about it. But, until the Powers-That-Be see reason, we just have to live with keeping our kangaroos secret, or not having them at all.

[ChoppersMom]

Two things I forgot in the above rant: A guy in Manhattan had a bunch of monkeys confiscated (this was all over the news) and was actually given the choice to find a new home in another state, and then he could have his monkeys back. He did, and he got them back. (Yay!) He was in tears when they took them, and clearly adored every one of them, and they him. There was no way this guy was going to let them keep his animals. Also, in NY, if you already own an animal that gets banned, you can keep it, but you're supposed to get a permit from the state. If you don't get the permit, I think they can take the animal, because they can't tell when you got it. They might let you have it back if you get the permit, but I'm not sure about that.