Council passes exotic animal ordinance
There is no longer an alligator living in a backyard pen in a city neighborhood or anywhere else at the residence.
Last week, a Waupaca police officer checked if the alligator was still living there.
"It is gone," Police Chief Tim Goke said. "He (the resident) got rid of it, because he knew the city was pursuing an ordinance."
An ordinance prohibiting the keeping of wild or exotic animals was unanimously approved by the Common Council on Nov. 15.
Examples of animals that are on the prohibited list are chimpanzees, monkeys, felids, wolves, coyotes, foxes, prairie dogs, elephants, alligators, crocodiles, kangaroos, opossums, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, hyenas, skunks, otters, badgers, raccoons, anteaters, sloth, armadillos, mongooses, reptiles more than 10 feet in length, venonomous reptiles, bears, games cocks and other fighting birds, ostriches, emus, sharks and - except on farms - horses, mules, ponies, donkeys, cows, pigs, goats, sheep or any animal raised for fur-bearing purposes unless permitted elsewhere in city code.
Goke said the newly approved ordinance does not have a grandfather clause.
City residents who are suspected of keeping wild or exotic animals will be given the opportunity to get rid of the animals. If they do not, they will face sanctions, he said.
City staff will not be looking for the animals. If the city receives a complaint from a neighbor or someone who feels in danger, it has a new ordinance in place to handle it.
Last summer, police learned there was an alligator living in a backyard pen a block away from the Waupaca River.
Because the city did not have an ordinance related to exotic animals, it was not equipped to deal with the complaint.
Now, it is.
More from Community News
- Seniors caught with pot will graduate (1)
- St. Jude Walk slated in Scaninavia
- Spring Cruise Car Show Friday
- Students learn from Food for America
- Main Street options debated (1)
- Vets Home to hold open house
- Tea Party event in New London (2)
- Benefit set for crash victim's family
- Senior Tribute Concert at WHS
- Book Swap at Lincoln
4 Comments for "Council passes exotic animal ordinance "
Legally he could have kept it.
[quote]Goke said the newly approved ordinance does not have a grandfather clause.[/quote]
It doesn't need one; anyone who owned a so-called exotic animal before the ordinance could sue to keep it - and win. The case in Racine is an on-point precedent.
[quote]City residents who are suspected of keeping wild or exotic animals will be given the opportunity to get rid of the animals. If they do not, they will face sanctions, he said.[/quote]
And then the city will face a lawsuit. More tax dollars wasted. How much did we pay the city lawyer to write this idiotic ordinance?
[quote]Because the city did not have an ordinance related to exotic animals, it was not equipped to deal with the complaint. Now, it is.[/quote]
That leaves 999 things that the police department is unequipped to handle.
The police could have dealt with the situation using the public nuisance ordinance, end of story. Instead, we have to pay for a new ordinance; which is dead on arrival.
Still legal in Waupaca:
Gorillas
Orangutans
Gibbons
Bonobos
Piranhas
Any fur-bearing animal not raised for its fur
And who knows how many more...
And, you could make the argument that the council has outlawed CATS, because the city ordinances don't really "permit" cats. The code provides for the regulation and licensing of cats, but it doesn't explicitly say "cats are permitted". If the new ordinance has been quoted correctly (IF), then all cats are now outlawed.
A blatant waste of tax dollars.
lastpercentile Nov 30, 2011 3:33 PM
FLIP FLOP Dec 02, 2011 2:19 AM
A blatant waste of tax dollars.[/quote]
.................
Not a waste if fluff like this, also see goose poop and leash laws, gives the illusion of productivity from city management and government.
Best of all it temporarily distracts from those nasty questions about Mr. A. in general, what ever happended to insurance compensation for Mr A's actions, Waupaca Online, TIFs, employee morale and lost benefits, loss of services and increased cost of what's left...A waste for most but for a tiny few a very wise if temporary investment.
verytiredofit Dec 02, 2011 1:38 PM
I wonder which lake or river it's living in now?
Who thinks he drove it back to Florida?
That ordinance certainly was effective.
lastpercentile Dec 02, 2011 6:41 PM