An Oklahoma woman who asked her local city council for permission to keep her pet kangaroo says proposed changes to the law meant to help her keep the animal may be too costly.
The Broken Arrow City Council tabled Christie Carr’s request to keep a partially disabled kangaroo named Irwin so that City Attorney Beth Ann Wilkening could research the issue.
Instead of offering an outright exemption for Carr, Wilkening is suggesting the council approve changes to city ordinances that would allow Carr and other exotic animal owners to keep their pets if they obtain a newly-created permit. The permit would require owners meet criteria that includes having a $50,000 insurance policy for any injuries inflicted by the animal, having certification that the animal has adequate housing for their health and meeting all federal and state guidelines for licensing.
Wilkening also is suggesting the creation of an Exotic Animal Review Committee that would recommend whether a permit be issued to an individual. She will present her proposal to the council Tuesday night. If they choose to proceed, the council could adopt the changes at their May 3 meeting.
Carr said some of the proposed requirements to obtain a permit will make it difficult for her to keep the 25-pound kangaroo she takes to nursing homes as a therapy animal.
“The way they are set now, I will not be able to keep Irwin,” she said.
The biggest hurdle, she said, would be finding and affording an insurance policy to cover the animal.
“We’re just now getting information on that,” she said. “I’ve heard that that’s real expensive.”
Carr also questioned the $100 annual fee required for a permit.
Wilkening said the insurance policy is a key element to allowing someone to keep an exotic animal.
“We require individuals with dangerous dogs to get insurance in the amount of $50,000, and we thought it was important to get that in the exotic animal ordinance,” she said.
Councilman Richard Carter said he thinks requiring a permit is a reasonable compromise.
“I’ve read the proposed changes over the weekend and they appear to be something that is very livable that will still protect the public from other people wanting to bring in all kinds of exotic animals and calling them therapy pets,” he said.
The council’s main concern has been public safety. Native to Australia, healthy male great red kangaroos can grow up to 7 feet tall, weigh more than 200 pounds and bound 25 feet in a single leap. But because Irwin was neutered and is partially paralyzed after running into a fence, he is not supposed to get bigger than 50 pounds, his veterinarian, Dr. Lesleigh Cash Warren, wrote in a letter to the council supporting Carr’s request to keep him.
Wilkening said the Council has received hundreds of emails from people all over the world, including many kangaroo experts who expressed concern that Carr dressed up Irwin in clothes and kept the 1-year-old animal in an environment more consistent with raising a human being than a wild animal.
Carr met Irwin while volunteering at a local animal sanctuary and said he is not like a normal wild kangaroo.
“He is disabled and has been living indoors since his injury a year ago,” she said. “He is not acclimated to the weather. His clothing is also therapeutic to him, causing him to explore his body more, gaining more movement. And they also assist in his hygiene.”
Topics Oklahoma
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