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It's come to my attention through the fennec fox mailing list community that Iowa is enacting a very strict pet ban.  Not only is this new law stupid  in regards to lumping a fullgrown fox the size of a kitten in with bears and crocidiles.. it will require current owners to pay a registration fee (as much as $500), prove they're a 501c non-profit org, send in photos of animals with updated stats, post a foreboding sign "dangerous animal on premises" on your property, and have liability insurance coverage of $100,000 in case your escaped fox destroys property. Like that rare 3-winged beanie baby duck your neighbor sold his World of Warcraft character to afford on eBay. Other items of risk include: mini kegs, pencil erasers, dried apricots, and those 50 cent superballs from grocery stores.  Phear the fox. Don't let those massive ears and cute button nose deceive you! SRSLY, tis a dangerous animal, look at the sign, it says so!

 Here's a direct quote from Yahoogroups' Fennec Fox mailing list:

ALERT: Enforcement of the IOWA ban starts July first
Wed Apr 18, 2007 6:30 pm (PST)
Yes - foxes of all varieties are now illegal in Iowa! Includes the fennec
fox. You can no longer buy a fennec in Iowa.

Other animals banned are: all canids that are not domestic dogs, all felidae
except domestic cats (HYBRID CATS SUCH AS SAVANNAHS AND BENGALS ARE ILLEGAL
AS WELL), all hyenas, all bears, all pandas, all rhinos, all elephants, all
primates and pro-simians, all crocodilians, all water monitors, all
crocodile monitors, all beaded lizards and gila monsters and others of the
family helodermatidae, all burrowing asps and others of the family
atractaspidae, all members of the family elapidae, voperidae, crotalidae,
atractaspidae, or hydrophidae (various venomous snakes), and finally all
reticulated pythons, anacondas, and African rock pythons.

USDA licensed owners and breeders ARE NOT EXEMPT unless they are 501(c)3
non-profit as well, or are a wildlife rehabber.

If you currently own one, you may keep it, providing you do the following:
animal must be microchipped, fill out a "dangerous animal" registration form
(name, address, phone, complete inventory of all animals owned, including
the number, species, age, sex, color, weight, identifying marks or scars,
vet's name and address), pay a registration fee (varies from $50 to $500 -
depending on the type of animal), supply a color photo of each animal, show
proof that you have a minimum of $100,000 liability insurance on your
animals in case of damages incurred during an escape or attack, and post at
least one sign on your property that says a dangerous wild animal is
confined on the premises. In addition, the animals may never leave their
primary enclosure unless they are being taken to a vet, being confiscated,
or are being relocated to a sanctuary.

Bottom line - if you own any of these animals currently in Iowa, it's going
to cost you a bunch of money to keep them. Even if you pay the fees and
manage to find the liability insurance, you can never own new ones.

If you don't own these right now, you never can.

Gabrielle