FWC Captive Wildlife Rule Development Public Meetings

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be hosting public meetings to encourage public input on captive wildlife regulations in Florida. The topics we are requesting input on are:

• Elephant Rides
• Administrative / Applications
• Public Contact / Unconfined Captive Wildlife

These meetings will give the public the opportunity to interact directly with staff of the Captive Wildlife Section and provide feedback on current rules, as well as recommendations for potential changes to regulations. There will not be any open forum discussions or presentations. The primary purpose of this meeting is for stakeholders to engage staff and make recommendations on the specified topics.

FWC will be reviewing rules related to the above topics in an effort to increase public safety, animal welfare and clarity of our rules. Our staff will be drafting rules in the future to address issues such as:

• Injuries from public contact with captive wildlife
• Injuries from unconfined captive wildlife
• Unclear application requirements
• Safety concerns with elephant rides

FWC staff is engaging the public and individuals holding captive wildlife permits to solicit input on reorganizing and updating some of our rules related to captive wildlife.  In consideration of our geographically diverse stakeholders, public engagement meetings will be held in a number of locations throughout the state.  We encourage attendance at these meetings to facilitate involvement with staff as they develop possible rule amendments.  These meetings will serve as the primary venue for public input on this topic.  In order to better manage time at the May Commission Meeting in the Tallahassee area, public speaker time may be limited to a specified amount of time. Time limitations will be posted on the agenda and announced at the meeting.  Staff will provide Commissioners with a report of the input gathered at the public meetings.  Interested stakeholders will also be able to provide comments in writing or on the FWC web page, if unable to attend these meetings.

The meetings will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the dates and locations listed to the below.

MEETING DATES AND

LOCATIONS

 

Palm Beach Gardens

April 8, 2019

Embassy Suites

4350 PGA Boulevard

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

 

Tampa

April 9, 2019

Embassy Suites

10220 Palm River Road

Tampa, FL 33619

 

Ocala

April 10, 2019

Hilton

3600 Southwest 36th Ave.

Ocala, FL 34474

 

Tallahassee

March 28, 2019

FWC Bryant Building

620 S. Meridian Street

Tallahassee, FL 32301