News 14 Carolina - Political Connections

Lions and tigers and bears oh my! A Senate Committee has their hands full with operators of small zoos and sanctuaries. They are considering a proposed ban on "inherently dangerous" animals. It stems from a 2003 death of a 4th grader from a tiger that was in his aunt's back yard.

It has full approval from DENR and the NC Zoo but does not have the support of the Agri folks. Yep that's created an interesting twist to this story. On top of that, despite months and months and months to come up with this "dangerous" list, several lawmakers on the panel ridiculed the list within minutes and appear to be very skeptical of the law.

20 speaker signed up to speak and all the ones who were allowed to speak were against the bill. These small zoos and sanctuaries believe the changes would put them out of business in time and go much further than preventing the "back yard" tiger cages in our neighborhoods.

The chair, Sen. Hartsell, realized what a controversial mess this was and set up a subcommittee to take up the issue first. He hinted at having another hearing soon.

I think some lawmakers are learning that messing with animal lovers can be just as hard if not harder than a number of lobbyists down there!