Cleveland, Ohio, Bans the Possession of Exotic Animals

July 2002

When we heard that the Cleveland City Council was considering an ordinance that would ban the possession of exotic animals as “pets,” we wrote to each council member as well as the mayor to voice our support. We sent each official information about the cruelty and dangers associated with “owning” exotic animals and alerted the local media. We also called all our area members and asked them to attend and speak at upcoming hearings regarding the ordinance. The mayor wrote to thank us for the important information that we had sent, and the Council and mayor approved the ordinance, which went into effect immediately.