Update: Good news! This bill was signed into law by the Governor on 05/16/06.
Bill Description: If passed, this legislation would prohibit the future possession, breeding, sale, and import of certain exotic animals, including large cats, wolves and other exotic canines, and nonhuman primates. The legislation does not apply to research facilities, USDA-licensed exhibitors, traveling acts, and qualified animal sanctuaries.
[teaserbreak]
Exotic animals belong in their natural habitat and not in the hands of individuals as “pets.” By their very nature, these animals are wild and potentially dangerous and, as such, do not adjust well to a captive environment. In only one of several recent incidents involving primates in Maryland, a pig-tailed macaque monkey bit the left thumb of a 49-year-old man in Calvert County in 2003. Private possession of exotic animals can pose health and safety risks to humans as well as resulting in substandard care for the animals themselves. The American Veterinary Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture all have expressed opposition to the keeping of certain animals by private individuals.