By Cindy Ellen Russell, Star-Bulletin
Lizzy is a Jackson's chameleon whose home is at the
Department of Land and Natural Resources. The Jackson
chameleons are good pets but have disastrous consequences
to Hawaii's ecosytem when loose in the wild.
Pets run amok
spur new animal
regulations
Getting a permit
By Susan Kreifels
will be far from easy
Star-Bulletin"Lizzy" perches on a branch, her hunched lime-green body and curled tail blending into the leaves. She rolls her buggy eyes at those peering at her.
She looks harmless. But Jackson's chameleons have invaded Oahu and are starting to do the same on the neighbor islands. Let loose in the wild, they prey on native insects, snails and bird nests.
State officials point to Jackson's chameleons as an example of pets run amok in Hawaii's delicate environment, especially on Oahu, and they want to prevent the animals from spreading.
They stressed in a news conference yesterday that rules passed in March make it illegal to release a dozen "potentially harmful pest animals" such as the chameleon into the wild. Also, transporting the animals to other parts of the state or exporting them -- an economic incentive to breed them -- now requires a special permit.
Pet stores still can sell the animals but will need permits to transport them.
But those permits will be almost impossible to get. The Department of Land and Natural Resources will only grant them for special purposes, such as educational or scientific reasons, said Paul Conry, a wildlife biologist at the department. Two applicants already have been turned down.
None of the listed animals are native species.
"We're trying to take away the economic incentives in the pet trade," Conry said. Some people release them into the wild to create "wild populations they can ranch and sell for exports."
Conry said only two animals on the list -- some species of frogs and the red-eared slider turtle -- can be legally imported. The department is recommending to the Department of Agriculture that those imports be banned as well, Conry said.
Transporting the animals without permits violate state laws. If they are transported to other states or foreign countries, federal laws are broken as well.
Pet shops on Oahu will probably not be affected by the new rules since the species are so common on the island, said Dan McDougal, an owner of Pet's Discount, which does not sell the listed animals.
McDougal believes, however, that pet stores on other islands may be concerned.
He said the laws should help to prevent the animals from spreading outside Oahu.
"It's a very small step," McDougal said. "But it's just like drugs. If you want them bad enough, you'll put them in your pocket and go. The only ones you'll stop are the legitimate guys."
Jay Biringer, salesperson at the Pet Shop on Maui, said he didn't believe the rules would hurt business there since the animals are also common on Maui.
While Biringer said he saw the need for the laws to keep the animals from spreading in Hawaii, he felt there should be more focus on what's coming into the state, rather than what is being shipped out as exports.
Cindy Bryant, owner of the Lihue Pet Shop on Kauai, said she doesn't sell any of the listed animals and believes the rules are good to prevent them from becoming pests on Kauai.
"With Jackson's chameleons, people don't know how to take care of them and they will die," Bryant said. "People get tired of the novelty and the animals suffer."
These species may not be released to the wild or be transported within or outside the state without a permit: Banned animals
Red-vented and red whiskered bulbul bird
Anyone seeing the listed animals in the wild can call the Department of Agriculture at 598-PEST or the Department of Land and Natural Resources at 587-0166.
