Ban on private ownership of dangerous animals advances in House

A proposal to ban the private ownership of dangerous exotic animals will likely be voted on by the North Carolina House this week.

Posted 5:26 p.m. Apr 29, 2019 — Updated 5:44 p.m. Apr 29, 2019

Laura Leslie

, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief

RALEIGH, N.C. — A proposal to ban the private ownership of dangerous exotic animals is moving through the North Carolina state House after winning unanimous approval Monday in a key committee.

Under House Bill 577, only zoos and shelters regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture would be allowed to possess big cats like lions and tigers, bears, hyenas or great apes, including chimpanzees, orangutans or gorillas. Private ownership, possession, breeding or selling such animals would become a misdemeanor. If the animal escapes or harms someone, the penalties would increase.

People who currently own such animals would be allowed to keep them under a grandfather clause. However, they would have to register the animals, keep them secured, allow inspections, provide proof of emergency plans and post signs warning that a dangerous animal is on the premises.

Lions, tigers, bears: Perfectly legal as pets in some parts of NC

Many other states have had similar laws in place for years, but prior attempts to enact them in North Carolina have not succeeded. Rep. Rena Turner, R-Iredell, said she's trying again because of "incidents we’ve had recently and have heard about elsewhere."

Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, noted that committee members received a letter from the aunt of Alexandra Black, the 22-year-old intern who was killed by a lion at the Conservators Center in Caswell County on Dec. 30, 2018. The letter recommended safety improvements at the sanctuary. Harrison said she would likely seek to amend the bill to strengthen those requirements.

The only member of the public to speak on the measure was Fred Baggett, legislative director for the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police. Baggett said his organization is neither for nor against the bill but warned about the section of the bill that calls for law enforcement to seize, impound and keep dangerous animals if they're found in the possession of private citizens.

"It’s unrealistic," Baggett told the House Judiciary committee. "We don’t have the ability to do that."

The bill could be on the House floor as soon as Monday evening.

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