County Passes Exotic Pet Ordinance Owners Need $50,000 In Insurance, Strict Housing And Care Conditions

Spokane County commissioners decided Tuesday to regulate some pets that are creepy, crawly or wild.

Over the objections of snake and cougar owners, Commissioners Steve Hasson and John Roskelley approved the county’s first law governing ownership of “inherently dangerous” pets. Commissioner Phil Harris was out of town.

Five years in the making, the ordinance takes aim at wild cats, wolves, bears, venomous snakes and all species of crocodiles.

Owners of those animals must have $50,000 in insurance coverage and meet strict housing and care requirements. Annual licenses will cost $50 for each reptile and $100 for each mammal. The law only applies to unincorporated areas.

While the county has laws for dealing with dangerous dogs, it has never regulated more exotic animals, for which there are no federally approved rabies vaccinations.

One such animal, a cougar named Charlie, was euthanized in April after biting a child who put his hand in the cat’s cage. Charlie’s owners since have replaced him with another cougar, also named Charlie.

Two of the cougar’s Spokane Valley neighbors testified in favor of the ordinance Tuesday, saying they fear for the safety of their families, neighborhood dogs and students at an elementary school across the street.

“When my children or I, or our dogs, would walk back and forth to our garage, he would crouch and prowl” in his cage, one neighbor said of the original Charlie.

But some exotic animal owners argued that dogs and horses are much more dangerous than the pets targeted in the ordinance.

“Does anyone know of anyone who was bitten by a (pet) poisonous snake in Spokane County?” asked Leonard Terzenbach, who wore a tie featuring a snake crawling across an American flag.

Hasson said that while it hasn’t happened yet, “we’re saying there’s a probability of some exotic animal doing damage at some time.”

Traci Williams, owner of Reptile Rescue (motto: “We save the cold-blooded”) asked commissioners to exempt caimens, small members of the crocodile family.

Those creatures do not pose a serious threat, said Williams, who held a foot-long python while testifying.

Since talk of the ordinance started, Williams said, four people have dropped off caimens at her office because they didn’t think they could afford to meet the new requirements.

Hasson and Roskelley decided to leave caimens in the ordinance after Nancy Sattin, the county’s animal control director, said they can bite off fingers.

, DataTimes