Exotic pet legislation ' needed,' minister says
BY KELLY SINOSKI and NICHOLAS READVANCOUVER SUN ksinoski@ png. canwest. com
nread@ png. canwest. com
The provincial government plans to expedite legislation to ensure exotic pet owners are properly equipped to handle large cats and other wild animals, after a 100 Mile House woman was killed by a tiger last week.

Agriculture Minister Pat Bell said Thursday the government will work with the B. C. SPCA to flag exotic pets, such as lions and tigers, that are a risk to the public.

He said a " varied regulatory regime," which would include a list of exotics as well as a permit system to acquire them, is needed to ensure pet owners have the proper permits, appropriate enclosures and can efficiently handle the animals.

The recommendations, proposed in a meeting Thursday between the B. C. SPCA, Bell and Environment Minister Barry Penner, would likely be an amendment to the B. C. Wildlife Act.

"Generally I think the public would support the notion of having a regulated regime around exotic pets that are a risk to the public," Bell said.

The meeting was scheduled after Tania DumstreySoos was killed by a pet tiger kept by her fiance, exotic animal trainer Kim Carlton, who runs a company called Siberian Magic in Bridge Lake. The tiger that killed DumstreySoos was destroyed, but Carlton's facility still has two tigers, two lions, a baboon and lemur.

SPCA CEO Craig Daniell said Bell and Penner feel the best way to deal with the problem is to set standards along the lines of those established by the Alberta government or by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which accredits Canada's zoos.

If that were to happen, Daniell said, it would effectively prohibit " the average joe" from keeping a wide variety of exotic pets, which is what the SPCA wants. He said the kinds of pets that could be affected were not specified in the meeting.