It's safe to say a proposed Colorado pet registry bill ruffled a few feathers.
Colorado House Bill 1163 would've forced Colorado pet owners to pay fees of $8.50 to $25 per pet through a state registration system. Failure to do so would have meant a $100 fine per pet.
The bill on Monday was spiked by its sponsor, Rep. Regina English, D-Colorado Springs, amid strong political headwinds. In an upcoming committee, English is expected to postpone the bill indefinitely.
Mae Dempsey, an advocate for fish and reptile breeders, on Feb. 2 started a Change.org petition opposing the measure. It had already generated more than 450 signatures as of Tuesday.
“This overwhelming response highlights the intense public backlash against the bill, leading to its indefinite postponement,” Christina Martin, a communications specialist with Change.org, said in an email to The Denver Gazette. “However, Mae remains committed to ensuring that if the bill resurfaces, the legislature is aware of the dissent it faces.”
The registration system would have applied to any dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, rat, gerbil, ferret, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate, or any “other species of wild or domestic or hybrid animal six months of age or older that is sold, transferred or retained for the purpose of being kept as a household pet.”
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Those fees could add up fast for fish and reptile breeders — or for “crazy cat ladies,” as the Change petition refers to them.
“This bill goes too far and creates an overreaching new tax,” Albert DiPentino, a petition signer from Colorado Springs, said.
DiPentino wrote that Colorado pet owners who have more than 100 fish, the fees could range from several hundred to more than $1,000 annually for the pets they already own.
Supporters insisted the idea of licensing pet animals is not new, and that Colorado's statutes already allow counties to do so.
Colorado's House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee will officially kill the measure later this month.
