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Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The new poison animal law in North Rhine-Westphalia came into force at the beginning of the new year.
This was announced by the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection.
There have been repeated incidents in the past in which escaped poisonous animals represented a public danger and resulted in time-consuming and expensive search and rescue operations.
The law now prohibits the purchase of certain dangerous snakes, spiders, or scorpions.
Those who already keep such animals will have to meet strict requirements in the future.
The law initially applies for five years.
Among other things, keepers will have to report all their poisonous animals to the authorities, present a certificate of good conduct and, from mid-2021, also have a high level of liability insurance.
Violations of the new law are said to be expensive: up to 50,000 euros or even two years imprisonment threaten, for example, if a poisonous animal is abandoned.
Snake keepers and their interest group had criticized the novella.
The municipal umbrella organizations, on the other hand, welcomed the law in principle.
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Press release from the state government