On Saturday, March 9th, 2019, 42 pets were surrendered at the Green Bay Aquarium Society Exotic Pet Amnesty Day held at the 1000 Islands Environmental Center in Kaukauna, WI! Volunteers from Steve Keller’s Traveling Snake Show, Madison Area Herpetological Society, and the Green Bay Aquarium Society (GBAS) took in 20 turtles, 2 birds, 15 fish, 3 frogs, 1 guinea pig, and 1 snake. Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance helped to organize and promote the event and provided assistance onsite the day of the event.

This event provided an avenue of support for parents of exotic pets who wanted to responsibly rehome their animals. The surrendered fish were rehomed through the GBAS fish auction held on March 10th. The other animals were rehomed by the organizations that took the pets in during the surrender event. The Pet Amnesty Event at the 1000 Islands Environmental Center is held every October and March.

In some areas, there are no rehoming options for animals such as fish, snakes, and turtles. Given limited resources, pet owners unable to care for their pet may think that releasing the animal into the wild is the right thing to do. However, many aquarium species are exotic and if they become established in the environment, can wreak serious havoc as non-native species. Rehoming is a humane alternative to pet release.

The organizations that participated in the event are part of the Habitattitude Rehoming Network of Green Bay and Fox Cities which is an area resource that aims to provide responsible alternatives to release for exotic pet owners who are no longer able to care for their pets. If you have a pet you would like to rehome, contact Chris Acy, the AIS Coordinator of the Winnebago Waterways Program at the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance by calling (920) 460-3674 or emailing chris@fwwa.org.

In addition to the local Habitattitude Network, there is a national Habitattitude Campaign that aims to teach people about the responsible alternatives to pet release. To learn more, visit http://www.habitattitude.net/

Tim Campbell, an aquatic invasive species specialist for UW-Extension and Wisconsin Sea Grant, is excited about the development of this new resource for pet owners.

“There are several benefits of having resources such as surrender events or the rehoming network,” says Tim, “One of which is that these resources help to prevent the spread of invasive species by providing a responsible alternative to releasing unwanted pets in our lakes and rivers.”

Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance program. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.

Follow the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Winnebago Waterways Facebook page or @WinnWaterways on Twitter! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.

This article was written by Chris Acy, the AIS Coordinator for the Winnebago Waterways Program covering Calumet, Winnebago, and Fond du Lac counties.