The independent zoo and wildlife professionals of the North Carolina Association of Zoos and Sanctuaries (NCAZS) need your support in letting our government representatives know that local zoos, nature centers, school outreach educators and wildlife sanctuaries are a positive benefit to the community and to the economy. We are being threatened by pending legislation introduced by animal rights activists that could force us out of this state and negatively impact travel and tourism with the closing of local attractions.

Click here for a form that will tell you how to contact your Senator or Representative so you can express your support for your neighborhood zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, and tell them what you think of California activists sneaking into our state's legislature to try to shut us down.

Background Information on SB1032

Local zoos and animal attractions have been helping to educate and entertain the public for many years, and in many cases also serve as wildlife rehabilitators and rescuers in their community. In North Carolina, animal attractions must be inspected, licensed and regulated by the USDA for mammals and the WRC for protected reptiles. In addition, there are many other laws and statutes that regulate how wild animals may be kept, bred, exhibited and transported in this state. With strict requirements and regulation that includes mandatory veterinary and safety inspections, your local animal attractions are far more likely to be a positive educational and economic resource in your community than a potential threat to public safety or animal welfare.

Unfortunately that’s not the way some animal rights activists see it. In 2006, under the appointment of the North Carolina General Assembly, a study committee began to debate new legislation to regulate "inherently dangerous exotic animals" in North Carolina. This committee was mandated to consult with and represent the interests of 12 groups that would be affected by the proposed legislation, including exotic animal owners, breeders, educators, small zoos and attractions. However, five of the 12 groups named seemed to have been completely left out of this process, while the "humane groups" including animal rights activists were significantly over-represented.

In addition, some rather odd shenanigans went on when the zoo and sanctuary folks who had been left out tried to find out what was going on. In violation of North Carolina’s Open Meetings Act, a "sunshine law", we were told that the meetings were closed to the public. Legally they cannot be. What was going on that we were not supposed to know about?

This much we do know. SB1032 was originally written by API (Animal Protection Institute), an animal rights advocacy group from Sacramento, California. API's stated goals are to ban or severely restrict not only zoos and other animal attractions, but all "human use" of animals including farming, hunting, fishing, pet keeping and meat eating. API is quite open about their ultimate agenda and about taking public credit for authoring this bill. We, the independent zoo and wildlife professionals of North Carolina, are very concerned that their activities in North Carolina may lead to the closing of local zoos and attractions statewide if they are left unchecked.

Even though API is openly anti-zoo and opposes all captive wildlife, they were invited into our state by Lorraine Smith, Curator of Mammals at the Asheboro Zoo. Our tax dollars support the Asheboro Zoo, since they do not bring in anywhere near enough revenue to be self supporting. Yet they are asking the state for a government granted coercive monopoly on the entire zoo and wildlife industry in this state, closing down all other zoos and wildlife facilities including rescue sanctuaries. And the zoo director is currently chairing the study group legislative advisory committee that will help decide whether any other zoos will be allowed to operate in the state of North Carolina.

We don't think it would be a good idea for the director of WalMart to chair a committee that helps decide whether to pass a law that bans all stores in North Carolina that are not owned by WalMart. Unfortunately that is exactly what is happening in our legislature right now. Between animal rights extremists from California and the only zoo in the state that would benefit economically from a ban, this committee’s composition is not likely to produce a decision that fairly represents the best interests of North Carolina.

What will the economic impact be on the state of North Carolina if a ban is successfully passed?

Many people in this state will lose their livelihoods, and animal rights activists gain a crucial foothold in our state's legislature to pass further laws restricting agriculture and commerce. In terms of immediate economic impact, not counting lost revenue from the travel and tourism industry when popular local zoos and attractions are closed, the conservative estimate from a study excerpted from the Federal Register is over 400 million dollars a year in lost revenue.

The HSUS is one of the participants on this legislative advisory committee. Like many other animal rights groups, HSUS pours huge sums of money into referendum and legislative campaigns to stop any use of animals. "Along with other heavy hitters like the Fund for Animals and Farm Sanctuary," notes activistcash.com, "HSUS scored a big victory in Florida in 2002 when a ballot initiative passed that gave constitutional rights to pregnant pigs."

Among other things, the new rights for Florida pigs banned farmers from using "gestation crates." The crates are necessary to humanely keep sows healthy during pregnancy and to prevent them from accidentally rolling over and crushing their newborn piglets. The new law did nothing to improve the welfare of pigs, but did make pig farming economically unsustainable. The Fund for Animals and Farm Sanctuary accomplished exactly what they wanted. Today there are virtually no pig farms in Florida. What would the economic impact be to North Carolina if the same legislation was passed in this state? Hog farming in North Carolina represents a more than one billion dollar industry.

We think this is a big problem. We hope that you do too. Your neighborhood zoos and wildlife sanctuaries need your support. Please let your Senators and Representatives know that you want to keep us in your local community and that you don't approve of animal rights activists from California telling us how to run things in North Carolina.

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