On Tuesday, March 23 2021, Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed Ordinance No. 36, which bans the ownership of any Crocodilian species or any Red-eared slider, which includes alligators, crocodiles, caimans, gharials, and red-eared slider turtles. As HAP members know, HAP wrote this Ordinance and has been advocating for it along with the Pittsburgh Police and Humane Animal Rescue. Following multiple incidents of these animals being abandoned, neglected, and inhumanely housed, Pittsburgh City Council took the necessary steps to ban ownership outright, with minimal exceptions for medical and educational institutions, veterinarians, and AZA accredited zoological parks.
