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Dangerous animal list could backfire for some

Herald-Dispatch photo by Sholten Singer Silver fox rabbit at Tinia Creamer's farm on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, in Huntington. Creamer breeds silver fox rabbits on her farm and was an advocate of the Dangerous Animals Act, though she had no idea it would include a species she raises.
Herald-Dispatch photo by Sholten Singer
Silver fox rabbit at Tinia Creamer’s farm on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, in Huntington. Creamer breeds silver fox rabbits on her farm and was an advocate of the Dangerous Animals Act, though she had no idea it would include a species she raises.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Tinia Creamer was afraid something like this might happen.

Creamer, who runs the small Lucas Farm in Huntington, raises a variety of livestock, including silver fox rabbits.

She was supportive of the West Virginia Legislature’s efforts to pass some sort of law during the 2014 session to ban certain exotic animals — those threatening to humans or a local ecosystem.

But she said she became concerned when the bill — now known as the West Virginia Dangerous Animals Act — passed without a list of dangerous animals.

Instead, the new law required various state government agencies to determine which animals are dangerous and which are not, subject to legislative approval next year.

“I wanted to see breeds of animals that would be banned,” Creamer said. “The last thing I wanted was for a bunch of agencies to come together and make these decisions afterward.”

A final version of the list was published last week. It allowed for state residents to continue to possess certain exotic animals, like the imported and potentially dangerous Komodo dragon, as long as a fee for a license is paid and containment measures are met. But some of the animals it prohibited were baffling, Creamer and other say.

Among those banned are all species of rabbits, hares and turtles. It doesn’t matter if the particular species is domesticated or not.

“I’m an animal activist, and I was a backer of this,” Creamer said. “As it stands, this would put many small farms out of business. I know there are some strains of wild rabbit meat that can be dangerous, but if you’re including domesticated breeds in this, rabbits pose absolutely no threat to humans…

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