Stephen Kaspar is one step closer to legalizing pet raccoons in Kansas after testifying before the state legislature last month.
Kaspar has been fascinated with raccoons since he made a papier-mâché version as a little boy. He carried it with him through the years until it was lost during his adulthood.
“Masked bandits, the hands… It’s always been one of those little creatures that I’m like, this is the coolest thing ever,” Kaspar said. “I want people to know they are not these disease aggressive balls of fur that run around your yard, that they are very smart, they are very affectionate.”
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Kaspar and his wife, Holly, are empty nesters. For the last several years, Kaspar has been channeling his paternal instincts when caring for his backyard raccoons.
It all started when he left out some marshmallows for them to eat so his indoor cats had something to watch.
Now, every night between 9 p.m. and midnight, it has become routine for Kaspar to step outside. He brings the treats and the raccoons bring their appetite.
“I would caution people that want to just go out and start throwing marshmallows at raccoons. It doesn’t really work that way. There is a process — it’s about trust,” Kaspar explained.
That process and trust led Kaspar to the Kansas Legislature. He testified in support of House Bill 2297, which he co-wrote with Rep. Joe Seiwert in order to legalize pet raccoons in the state.
HB 2297 requires a permit from the Kansas Animal Health Commissioner. Owners must take an educational course on raccoon care, vaccinate their raccoons for rabies and consent to yearly inspections.
It also outlines the necessary fees so that the state would not immediately go in deficit by bringing this program to Kansas:
- For an initial application, $100
- For an annual permit renewal, $250
- For an initial facility inspection, $150
- For a follow-up inspection, $75 per additional inspection
- For a late renewal, $100
- For a permit transfer, $150
- If a permittee violates the provisions of this section, resulting in the seizure of the permittee's raccoon, a $1,000 fine shall be imposed to cover the costs of rehoming and providing care for the raccoon.
“My bill actually is not for wild raccoons, it’s for USDA bred raccoons,” Kaspar said. “I put these safe-guards in place that you had to jump through a lot of hoops.”
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Kathleen Savaiano with the Missouri Department of Conservation, however, believes domestication of wild animals takes hundreds of years.
“It is not something that through the evolution of breeding, that you’re going to breed out the wildness,” Savaiano said. “They need certain requirements, being feeding and caging. They are destructive and strong.”
Ultimately, Savaiano said it is about ethics.
“They feel like they are caring for it, but really, they are being selfish. And they are not seeing the animal for [what] it truly is — that wild animal that has a purpose out in nature,” Savaiano said. “They can scavenge, they move things in nature, they are part of the food web.”
Right now, HB 2297 is sitting in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Technically, it is in limbo until the legislative adjournment in May.
“There’s so much misinformation from diseases and rabies and temperament, and it’s baffling to me how misunderstood they are,” Kaspar said. “I’ll keep going at it 'til we get it.”
This story was originally published by JuYeon Kim with the Scripps News Group.
