Make sugar gliders LEGAL in PENNSYLVANIA

Recent signers:
Isabella Van Aulen and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

There are only a handful of states in which sugar gliders are illegal, Pennsylvania being one. I was told the fear is that they will get loose, destroy crops, mate with flying squirrels and a few other things. Gliders are marsupials and can not mate with rodents, which a squirrel is. It would take an army of them to destroy a small crop in a season. They are tropical animals and would not survive a cool summer night much less a winter night. These are great pets and I don't believe that the persons that are responsible for this decision had the proper education of these animals. Rats, snakes, rabbits, cats and dogs are permitted. Rats can breed once a month and have proven time and time again that they are able to survive harsh conditions should their owners decide to release them in the wild. Rabbits destroy crops and dogs and cats can bite, breed and be potentially dangerous. Am I asking that these be banned, absolutely not. I have owned every single one of these animals as pets and family members. They make great pets when they have great owners. Again all but a handfulstates allow these pets. Please help us to get them legalized and make a path to the remaining states so that others may know the joy these little guys can bring. If the officials responsible for making these decisions would contact owners and vets they could definitely give accurate information so that responsible owners like myself and many others can give these guys loving caring homes.  I was actually unaware of the legality of sugar gliders and got my daughter one for an emotional support animal and ended up with a fine because my ex called The Game Warden told them I had and I didn't even realize that they were illegal at the time.  Needless to say my daughters ESA's were seized ( i had 2 because they do better in pairs or more).  So i ask lawmakers in PA to PLEASE make sugar gliders LEGAL IN PA AS MANY STATES HAVE ALREADY DONE

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Recent signers:
Isabella Van Aulen and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

There are only a handful of states in which sugar gliders are illegal, Pennsylvania being one. I was told the fear is that they will get loose, destroy crops, mate with flying squirrels and a few other things. Gliders are marsupials and can not mate with rodents, which a squirrel is. It would take an army of them to destroy a small crop in a season. They are tropical animals and would not survive a cool summer night much less a winter night. These are great pets and I don't believe that the persons that are responsible for this decision had the proper education of these animals. Rats, snakes, rabbits, cats and dogs are permitted. Rats can breed once a month and have proven time and time again that they are able to survive harsh conditions should their owners decide to release them in the wild. Rabbits destroy crops and dogs and cats can bite, breed and be potentially dangerous. Am I asking that these be banned, absolutely not. I have owned every single one of these animals as pets and family members. They make great pets when they have great owners. Again all but a handfulstates allow these pets. Please help us to get them legalized and make a path to the remaining states so that others may know the joy these little guys can bring. If the officials responsible for making these decisions would contact owners and vets they could definitely give accurate information so that responsible owners like myself and many others can give these guys loving caring homes.  I was actually unaware of the legality of sugar gliders and got my daughter one for an emotional support animal and ended up with a fine because my ex called The Game Warden told them I had and I didn't even realize that they were illegal at the time.  Needless to say my daughters ESA's were seized ( i had 2 because they do better in pairs or more).  So i ask lawmakers in PA to PLEASE make sugar gliders LEGAL IN PA AS MANY STATES HAVE ALREADY DONE

The Decision Makers

Tom Wolf
Former Governor - Pennsylvania

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Petition created on April 13, 2021