Fish Mart

Legislative News

Issue Update - Maine –

Legislation Would Classify Koi As Unrestricted Aquarium or Pond Fish

H.P. 567 directs the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife to amend Chapters 2 and 7 of its rules to add Koi (Cyprinus carpio haematopterus) to the list of unrestricted fish that do not require an importation or possession permit.

The bill does state, however, that any rules adopted by the Department must specify that the keeping of koi is allowed only in a closed aquarium or pond system.

For purposes of this section:

"Closed system" means a type of water system where the water is recirculated, no water is discharged into the environment and the wildlife or marine species held in the system cannot escape."

PIJAC Position:

Many aquarium hobbyists across the country enjoy keeping and raising koi in a responsible manner, and we applaud Maine for taking steps to allow their citizens to do so. We strongly support the passage of HP 567 and encourage Mainers to contact their legislators to express their support for this common-sense bill.

H.P. 567 has been referred to the Joint Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Committee where it awaits a committee hearing. Help spread the word on the Web!

This link at the provides the full bill and its language.

Substitute House Bill No. 5409 As Amended by House Amendment Schedule "A

CT Legislation –

With the help of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), their lobbyist, several CT retail pet stores, and Fish Mart President Peach Reid, we were successful in limiting many new mandates on pet shops that sell puppies and kittens in a bill pushed by animal rights activists.

In addition, we were also successful in adding an amendment which allows USDA licensed shops to sell Hedgehogs, Sugar Gliders and Degus (which became illegal with the Connecticut Department of Environment and Energy regulations earlier this spring), specifically permitting Ferrets, which the DEEP inadvertently listed as illegal. All the above have an effective date of October 1, 2012.

Our collective goal for next session is to make it a law that ALL sellers/ adopters of puppies and kittens have a warrantee like the pet shops do. We would also like to address the kitten warrantee for everyone, as most are strays that are vet checked and sold for a lot less than what the warrantee provides for.

Note: If there are any legislative or regulatory matters on deck in your state, please let us know and we will publish the information.

Peach: peach@fishmartinc.com

Fish Mart actively promotes the Aquarium Hobby throughout the Northeast

Ask your salesman about our walk-in discount for retail pet stores.

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