(08-28-2012, 06:20 AM)writer811 Wrote: I don't understand why hedgehogs are an issue in Pennsylvania at all. Hedgehogs are native to the state, so... Are they worried about overpopulation? Too many hedgehogs coming in makes for big leaps in the population or something?
Also, I can attest to Pennsylvania's loose reptile laws. A friend of the family raised 3 full grown American Alligators and one of my adult cousins raised a Caiman before moving to Florida.
actually, thats why they were banned, they are not native to pa. but seeing how pa has similar weather conditions as their natural habitats, they can flourish in the wild here. at first they restricted them to just animals bred within the state, but breeders brushed it off and kept bringing in new ones, and the people in charge got mad and banned them completely. you cant even have one with a permit. sugar gliders are illegal as well for the same reason, but are not banned, they can be obtained with a permit.
and yea, there basically are no reptile laws here, a child can go to an expo and buy a rattlesnake or gator with no issues at all :/
(08-28-2012, 07:00 AM)Fishbone Wrote: There are 16 or 17 species of hedgehogs I think, and none native to the Americas. They are native to europe, africa, and parts of mainland asia I believe. The ones most commonly sold as pets are the african pygmy hedgehogs, or hybridized animals crossed with pygmies.
And the alligators are a great example of the "ban" debate. While I'm not for banning any animal, there are certainly things that would have to be considered before ever trying to own an alligator. There should be some kind of licensing/permitting system for animals of that type. But that requires legislation, inspections, etc... And that is time consuming and costly. So, it's easier to just ban them. The question then evolves to, where is the line on what gets banned?
i think that theyre not worried about the gators because theres no way they could survive a pa winter, and if anyone gets hurt, its the owners fault. but i do believe you should have some sort of permit to own an animal so dangerous. theres not even regulations on venomous snakes like rattlers and cobras.
