First & foremost this is FEDERAL law and supersedes state law. If Shambala is passed permits would be required for wolfdogs in every state - this law could allow them to confiscate your animals. You would be required to carry insurance & a surety bond at your cost for your animal's lifetime in an amount determined by the USDA >.
The Animal Welfare act (and all federal law) has to be passed by Congress. Usually, they say something like (real loose language here folks) - we need to regulate exotics cause they're a danger to humans and are abused in captivity.- so this law proposes...blah, blah. The bill passes and Congress directs some Dept. (in this it's US Dept. of Agriculture) to write rules & regs to make it so. The rules & regs are the AWA (animal welfare act) which already exists & has for some time. Anyone dealing in exotic or wild animals MUST have permit to breed, sell or exhibit these animals. They inspect you annually and have rules as to cage size, what food you can feed, how it's stored, prepared, etc. They dictate that you must have a perimeter fence (a 8 ft tall fence) outside your primary cage to prevent contact with the animal............ all of this is in place if you use your animal in commerce.
Until now they had no jurisdiction over private animals (nor hybrids - crossbreeds such as wolfdogs). The Shambala bill would now let the USDA include pet animals in the AWA. We Assume thesame standards would apply, cage sizes etc. if this bill is passed. If you violated the act they could confiscate your animal! You must post a surety bond which is like the bond you post if you're accused of a crime ensuring you'll return for trial. Only in this case, you pay for this bond for the life of your animal and it must be of an amount that would cover the cost of caring for your animal IF they confiscated it. The animal would be given to a sanctuary along with the money to care for it - money you pay annually for the bond - this will probably cost several hundred $ a year. Until the bill is passed, we have no way of knowing exactly what rules or regs will apply, how much permits will cost etc. Once the USDA is given the power under this bill, they pretty much can do what they want & you can't argue with them.
Most dealers/breeders etc. plead no contest, & pay whatever fine is imposed (most are pretty hefty) as when you fight them they keep you tied up in court for years (quite pricey) and suspend your license (putting you out of business) in the meanwhile. Since pet owners aren't "in business" they've come up with the confiscation rule (at your expense).
LIOC has a bulletin board, but it's for members only. There's a lot of chatter on some of the open cat lists, but it's not always reliable.
I don't mind answering any questions for ya'll and will forward to Christine anything I feel would be helpful. The bill has not been filed as of yet, when it does there will probably be hearings, and we'll need to bombard our individual congressmen & Senators asking them to vote against this. Some in the zoo community feel the USDA can't and won't want to get involved with "pets"......that it would be impossible unless their budget were doubled. They feel some sort of "dangerous" animal law might come down instead. They've had meetings trying to define "dangerous" animals for the purpose of such legislation. However, wolves would be included to be sure. Remind your congress man that 2/3 of the states currently have some law already in place requiring permits of exotic animals (don't mention hybrids or wolfdogs to them - few states govern hybrids specifically) The Endangered Species act already requires permits for Wolves as endangered species.
I have some stats on other "hazardous" activities - I'll forward later. Hope this helps.