On February 6, 2014, Missouri Representative Stanley Cox introduced House Bill 1371, which changes laws regarding the Missouri Criminal Code and which was amended on February 10, 2014.
Among those changes, Missouri seeks to define the “keeping a dangerous wild animal” as any person who “keeps any lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, cheetah, margay, mountain lion, Canada lynx, bobcat, jaguarundi, hyena, wolf, bear, nonhuman primate, coyote, any deadly, dangerous, or poisonous reptile, or any deadly or dangerous reptile over eight feet long, in any place other than a properly maintained zoological park, circus, scientific, or educational institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, or animal refuge, unless he or she has registered such animal with the local law enforcement agency in the county in which the animal is kept.”
The offense of keeping a dangerous wild animal will be a Class C misdemeanor.
Although privately keeping “any deadly, dangerous, or poisonous reptile, or any deadly or dangerous reptile over eight feet long” without a permit is already prohibited in Missouri, the definition as a “dangerous wild animal” would be new, and may impact even those owners who have permits as their insurance premiums will likely be adversely affected.