DWA Changes

ratboy · #1 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 02:42 PM

Simple question

Would be very interested to hear what the forum thinks....

Do you agree with the proposals to potentially take certain species off the Dangerous Wild Animals Licence this October ?

captaincaveman · #2 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 02:47 PM

any species list?? any going on?? hopefully they will do something with centipedes this time and put the evil little beggers on

ratboy · #3 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Newman

Finally some movement on the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, the draft Statutory Instrument has just been laid before Parliament. It contains proposed additions and deletions to those species requiring of a licence under the Act. The draft SI is numbered 1437 and was laid before Parliament on 14 May 2007.

The SI has been laid in draft form in both Houses and will be looked at by separate committees in both. In the Commons the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments will be doing a technical scrutiny of the SI (ie is the SI correctly worded and being taken forward under correct legislation) and in the Lords the House of Lords Select Committee on the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee will be looking at the
policy issues contained therein. The Instrument cannot be made if disapproved by either House (within 40 days) and Members can introduce a negative resolution or a "prayer" if they are not happy with the content. If a Member does table a motion against the Order this could lead to a debate in the House.

While technically the SI has to lay for 40 days, if no reservation have been made within 14 days it will pass. The new schedule will 'hopefully' come into effect on October 1st 2007. Now all we have to do is push DEFRA into issuing some strong guidance to Local Authorities on implementing the wretched thing!

The following animals are no longer listed in the Schedule and so the provisions of the Act no longer apply to them:

certain smaller primates (woolly lemurs, tamarins, night (or owl) monkeys, titis and squirrel monkeys), sloths, the North American porcupine, the capybara, crested porcupines; cacomistles, racoons, coatis, olingoes, the little coatimundi, kinkajou, binturong, cat hybrids which are predominantly domestic cat, hyraxes, guanaco, vicuna, emus, sand snakes, mangrove snakes, and the Brazilian wolf spiders

The additions are:

Dingo Canis familiaris dingo

Argentine Black-headed snake Elapomorphus lemniscatus,
South American green racer Philodryas olfersii,
Peruvian racer Tachymenis peruviana,
Amazon false viper Xenodon severus.

Middle eastern thin-tailed scorpion Hemiscorpius sp.

This is the list that Chris Newman posted on another thread.

captaincaveman · #4 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 03:05 PM

thanks, not really that much(reptile wise)difference really. i seriously think that some of the larger centipedes should be put on it though

I see mangroves finally made it off(though not that excited by it

), but not curviers dwarf caimens, though thats not a bad thing i suppose when you think of the average numpty buying one as their first exotic

Nerys · #5 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 03:23 PM

no

i think that most of the mammal species they are proposing removing should stay on.

let me make it totally clear what i think..

i DO NOT think that animals such as primates, racoons, kinks etc should come off the DWA

i have read people saying that a monkey is "not a danger" or a racoon is "not a danger" and i would like to say to that ............

"what a load of total bollocks"

i do however agree that the DWA is a flawed peice of legislation, and i think THAT is where we should worry...

as i have said before, what the UK needs is a Keepers Licence... and that i would like to see applied to all speices from raptors to reptiles

On the reptile front, there is less coming off, at the moment we are looking at sand snakes, mangrove snakes, brazilian wolf spider. none of which i consider a "danger" in the same way as a pissed off racoon could be.

however i already know one pratt who is selling mangrove snakes to people without a DWA... as "it will be ok as they are coming off in october"

firstly, although the seller is technically not breaking the law by making the sale, as he does not legally have to see their license, the buyers are.

(of course any RESPONSIBLE seller would ask, but not all are huh...)

IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO OWN A MANGROVE SNAKE (or any other dwa species) WITHOUT A CURRENT UP TO DATE DWA LICENSE.

a bit like being caught buying fags underage.. you can't say... oh its ok for this 15yr old to buy them because they will be 16 in a few months time. until they come off, you CANNOT keep them, and that IS the bottom line.

anyway....

Art_Gecko101 · #6 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 03:37 PM

Nerys i completely agree. I've got into very heated debates about the keeping of primates and the larger mammals before, and i think its ridiculous even to propose that they should be allowed to be owned with no kind of liscence.

TSKA Rory Matier · #7 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 03:40 PM

Whilst l can speak with no genuine authority on the proposals to remove species from the reptile side and arachnid department, l can speak with a certain amount of enthusiasm on the mammal front.

It could well be agreed and indeed argued safely that certain species should never have been on and indeed they could come off. However, l do not agree with the shape of this proposal in any way shape or form.

Some of the mammals listed to come off will cause the market problems now and also in the future - and yeah l am talking as a seller of DWA species but also a current ex dwa holder.

We need something here, and l do agree with Nerys on this, as do many other keepers still to voice their opinions. That it is not so much a public safety licence required but more of a regulation document, more of a specialised keepers' licence - which could be drafted and issued to keepers from all fields.

This way we would show to those that oppose that we are responsible keepers, we would be easily regulated....failure to have a licencing scheme on board will result very quickly in inexperienced keepers handling, what some indeed many, should not be handling nor ever handle.

Should these proposals go ahead, we are committing this industry [especially mammals] into perilous times.

Rory Matier

serpentkid100 · #8 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 03:41 PM

its only against the law if you get caught....

on a serious note only people who can prove they are competant should really keep dwa animals

Art_Gecko101 · #9 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 03:44 PM

One of the big problems i see happening with taking things like primates and racoons off of the DWA, is that bad press is going to increase massively as soon as some show-off numpty decides to get one without doing his homework and gets mauled, or worse. We already have enough of a problem with public opinion toward exotics keeping, and i just think that its going to get worse with things like this. Of course some people are perfectly capable of keeping those animals, but for the average joe its just not practical.

Athravan · #10 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 03:46 PM

I do not really care much about the reptiles coming off the DWA, but one thing I do feel strongly about is that there is no central body that dictates the terms of actually receiving a DWA. The fact of it is, it's as cheap as £60 and as expensive as £500 in different parts of the country - it can take from a week to 6 months to actually receive it... some councils don't even seem to care, or employ inspectors who know anything about reptiles.

One of my inspectors asked about my evacuation procedure for CRICKETS in case of emergency. She thought they were being sold as pets.

I think it is ridiculous that there is no set of rules that should apply to the whole of the UK. All councils have to adhere to the actual list of DWA animals.. why there is not a central set of rules regarding costs and process of getting a license, and at least some basic training for everyone involved in the inspections.. I just can't understand.

View Poll Results: Do you agree with the proposals to take certain species off the DWA in October ?
Yes, I think the should be taken off.	18	48.65%
No, I think they should be left on.	13	35.14%
I have no thoughts one way or the other.	6	16.22%
Voters: 37. You may not vote on this poll

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