Pet owners all across the country are up in the arms due to a proposed ban on imported animals. The bill entitled the Non-native Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act was recently introduced and if allowed to pass could potentially wipe out entire pet based industries such as the importation of exotic fish (a huge business in the U.S.)

The reasons behind the bill are easy to understand since basically it was designed to “prevent the introduction and establishment of non-native wildlife species that negatively impact the economy, environment or human or animal species’ health” by establishing a risk assessment process that imported species would undergo before being allowed into the United States”, but many say the idea that foreign animals will bring nothing but disease and bacteria into the country which we are not equipped to fight is absurd. According to Marshall Meyers in a statement before the House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans “It imposes of persons interested in importing or possessing a species for commercial on non-commercial purposes the task of having to scientifically prove a negative — that the species will not cause harm or be likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human and animal species’ health. Simply on the grounds of ‘statistics 101,’ this is unworkable. Absent a crystal ball, it is impossible to prove conclusively that no harm has ever nor will ever occur at any time, anywhere in the United States.”

Ideally if passed the legislation would split foreign animals into two groups, one for approved and the other for animals deemed a threat to the U.S. ecosystem. And believe it or not may even prevent several breeds of dogs and cats from coming into the country. While discussions are still on going as to the validity of the bill, many believe that it would do more harm than good and in a time when the dollar is loosing value, the last thing that the country needs is a law that would hurt the economy even more that it already is.