Post by muskyhusky on Oct 18, 2008 18:12:11 GMT -6
Regulation of wolf hybrids varies greatly in different parts of the country. Federal Animal Welfare Act regulations define hybrids as domestic animals, and they are regulated as are other dogs. Several States require permits to keep hybrids, a few States prohibit their possession, and many States do not regulate them at all.
Hybrids can pose perplexing problems for local animal control agencies. The question of jurisdiction is often unclear. Local animal control ordinances are often written exclusively for dogs. Most State wildlife agencies do not regard wolf hybrids as wildlife even though the animals may be legally defined as being wild or exotic. As a result, many hybrids may not be regulated by any local statute, making troublesome animals and owners a difficult problem for their communities.
Yet another problem for animal control agencies is the difficulty in identifying an animal as a wolf hybrid. There is no test currently available that will differentiate a hybrid from a dog or a wolf. Animal control agencies often must rely solely on the word of the owner in determining whether or not an animal is a wolf hybrid. Recently developed techniques, such as genetic probing, hold some promise as possible methods of identification, but no work is currently being done with regard to wolf hybrids.
Many animal shelters have had difficulties dealing with hybrids. Aside from housing and handling concerns, adoption to the public has proven to be risky. In 1988, a wolf hybrid was adopted from a humane society shelter in Florida. Several hours after it was taken home, it escaped from its new owner's fenced yard and killed a neighbor's 4-year-old boy. The shelter was sued and paid $425,000 in a settlement to the child's parents. Since this incident, shelters around the country have been reluctant to put these animals up for adoption. Instead, the animals are euthanized once the required holding period is over.
Rabies vaccination for wolf hybrids is yet another difficult issue. Although it is likely that current rabies vaccines are as efficacious in the hybrid as they are in the dog, Federal regulations require that any vaccine be tested in a species before it can be approved for use in that species. Due to the expense, no such testing has ever been done on either wolves or hybrids. Regardless, many hybrids have been vaccinated with canine rabies vaccine. Such vaccinations are not officially recommended or recognized, and in some States may even be illegal. Consequently, hybrids that have bitten someone are often treated differently than a dog would be. In many cases the hybrid must be destroyed and the brain examined, regardless of whether or not it was vaccinated for rabies.
In some States, veterinarians have had legal problems as a result of treating wolf hybrids in their practices. Recently, a veterinarian in New Jersey was sued and found liable for damages after a wolf hybrid he had treated later bit someone. To further complicate matters, veterinarians may find that their malpractice insurance does not offer coverage in a suit involving a wolf hybrid, if the hybrid has no permit or is owned illegally. The American Veterinary Medical Association recently issued a statement saying that their malpractice insurance carrier would not cover suits involving wolf hybrids if the animal's owner has no permit in a State that requires one, or if hybrids are prohibited in the State in which the incident occurred.
Hybrids can pose perplexing problems for local animal control agencies. The question of jurisdiction is often unclear. Local animal control ordinances are often written exclusively for dogs. Most State wildlife agencies do not regard wolf hybrids as wildlife even though the animals may be legally defined as being wild or exotic. As a result, many hybrids may not be regulated by any local statute, making troublesome animals and owners a difficult problem for their communities.
Yet another problem for animal control agencies is the difficulty in identifying an animal as a wolf hybrid. There is no test currently available that will differentiate a hybrid from a dog or a wolf. Animal control agencies often must rely solely on the word of the owner in determining whether or not an animal is a wolf hybrid. Recently developed techniques, such as genetic probing, hold some promise as possible methods of identification, but no work is currently being done with regard to wolf hybrids.
Many animal shelters have had difficulties dealing with hybrids. Aside from housing and handling concerns, adoption to the public has proven to be risky. In 1988, a wolf hybrid was adopted from a humane society shelter in Florida. Several hours after it was taken home, it escaped from its new owner's fenced yard and killed a neighbor's 4-year-old boy. The shelter was sued and paid $425,000 in a settlement to the child's parents. Since this incident, shelters around the country have been reluctant to put these animals up for adoption. Instead, the animals are euthanized once the required holding period is over.
Rabies vaccination for wolf hybrids is yet another difficult issue. Although it is likely that current rabies vaccines are as efficacious in the hybrid as they are in the dog, Federal regulations require that any vaccine be tested in a species before it can be approved for use in that species. Due to the expense, no such testing has ever been done on either wolves or hybrids. Regardless, many hybrids have been vaccinated with canine rabies vaccine. Such vaccinations are not officially recommended or recognized, and in some States may even be illegal. Consequently, hybrids that have bitten someone are often treated differently than a dog would be. In many cases the hybrid must be destroyed and the brain examined, regardless of whether or not it was vaccinated for rabies.
In some States, veterinarians have had legal problems as a result of treating wolf hybrids in their practices. Recently, a veterinarian in New Jersey was sued and found liable for damages after a wolf hybrid he had treated later bit someone. To further complicate matters, veterinarians may find that their malpractice insurance does not offer coverage in a suit involving a wolf hybrid, if the hybrid has no permit or is owned illegally. The American Veterinary Medical Association recently issued a statement saying that their malpractice insurance carrier would not cover suits involving wolf hybrids if the animal's owner has no permit in a State that requires one, or if hybrids are prohibited in the State in which the incident occurred.
